Fantastic Four Volume 1
by comicbookfan23
Summary: AU - Earth-1232 - Issue 3: The F4 are house-hunting in the Big Apple, but during their stay, they unknowingly encounter an uncanny force. Someone who can control the minds of others in a rather peculiar way. Who could this possibly be? Read and find out!
1. Team Roster

**Author's Notes**: Just before you read my reinvention of the Fantastic 4, I just want you to take note that it, like my reinventions of The Avengers and The X-Men, is based in an entirely new Marvel Universe I've made up, Earth 1232. It's like the Ultimate Universe, based in the real world, but has a few differences, as you shall soon see. Just wanted to get that off my chest before you begin reading my stories.

**Fantastic Four Roster**:

**Mr. Fantastic** AKA **Reed Richards** - Leader of the Fantastic Four, Richards possesses a mastery of mechanical, aerospace and electrical engineering, chemistry, all levels of physics, and human and alien biology. Richards gained the ability to stretch his body into any shape he desires when he was bombarded with cosmic radiation.

**Invisible Girl** AKA **Sue Storm** - Like the other founding members of the Fantastic Four, Sue received her powers after being exposed to a cosmic storm. Her primary power deals with light waves, allowing her to render herself invisible. She's also Reed's fiancée.

**The Human Torch** AKA **Johnny Storm** - Like the rest of the Fantastic Four, Johnny gained his powers on a spacecraft bombarded by cosmic rays. He can engulf his entire body in flames, is able to fly, and can generate streams and balls of fire. He's also Sue's younger brother.

**The Thing** AKA **Benjamin "Ben" Grimm** - When he was bombarded with cosmic radiation, it transformed Grimm's skin into a craggy covering of large, orange rocky plates. Thus it grants him superhuman strength, stamina and resistance to physical injury. Grimm's also an exceptionally skilled pilot, due to his time spent as a test pilot in the United States Air Force.

**

* * *

****Supporting Characters**:

**Alicia Masters** - Step-daughter of the "Puppet Master", Alicia has been blind since she was 15, but has gained a rather incredible "gift"; an ability to see the world through auras, especially in people, seeing them surrounded in different colours which represents their personality or what emotions they're feeling at that moment in time. She's an up-and-coming sculptress, well she hopes to be, and likes to show off her works in museums, art shows, etc.


	2. Fantastic 4 Meets the Mole Man

**Enemies**:

**Mole Man** AKA **Harvey Elder** - The Mole Man is extremely near-sighted due to damage his vision suffered years ago, and his eyes are extremely sensitive to bright light. He wears protective glasses that both reduce bright light to levels his weak eyes can tolerate and increase dim light to levels by which he can see. His sense of hearing, smell, and touch are far more sensitive than that of a normal human; these senses are heightened, but not superhuman. He possesses a "radar sense" that supplements his own weak natural vision. He's also developed a fighting style that resembles the Japanese martial art and Bōjutsu. Also has genius-level intellect.

**Moloids** - A race of beings who were created by and serve the Mole Man. They are incredibly weak and mindless but can be overwhelming when in vast numbers.

**Giganto** - Is of superhuman size, and possesses an unknown degree of superhuman strength and endurance. It's also an expert at digging tunnels, and can hold its breath beneath water for an extended period.

**Tricephalous** - In addition to possessing superhuman strength and flight, the Tricephalous can breathe fire from each of its three heads.

* * *

Issue 1

On this particular day, a scientist Dr. Reed Richards, his beautiful fiancée Sue Storm, her adolescent brother Johnny, and Reed's best friend since college Ben Grimm, decided to make an unauthorized test flight into space using an experimental rocket of Reed's own design before it was bombarded by a wave of cosmic radiation once they were in space. After they were crash-landed back on Earth, they emerged from the wreckage to discover that the radiation had mutated their bodies and had given them remarkable new abilities. Reed gained the ability of body elasticity, Johnny the ability to transform into a fiery form which enable flight, and Sue the power of invisibility. Ben gained superhuman strength and durability, but his body was tragically transformed. He now had a muscular orange, rock-like hide. Thus the **Fantastic Four **was born and each gave themselves code-names: Reed was to be known as **Mr. Fantastic**, Sue the **Invisible Woman**, **The Human Torch** belonged to Johnny's and, unfortunately, Ben had to be named **The Thing** for it was the only appropriate name they could up with that fit his description.

Now the Fantastic Four were trying to live out their lives in Central City, California as normally as they can but alas, that was easier said than done as you shall soon see…

* * *

**Central City, California** - **A Week Later**

Being the middle of summer it was a glorious sunny day in Central City. There was not a speck of cloud in the sky and the Sun gleamed brightly alongside a nice cool breeze. The residents of Central City were doing what anyone would do on a day like this…sunbathing on the beach and swimming in the sea of course. Two of these residents were doing just that. Sue, in a pale-blue tankini with black trimmings that looked divine on her slender figure, was using this opportunity to obtain a suitable enough tan while her brother, Johnny, was frolicking in the sea, in a pair of red swimming shorts, with a bunch of young girls who were more than happy to play along with him.

Sue, who picked out a pair of sunglasses from her bag, slipped them on and shook her head at the cheerful scene, _The reasons why girls fall head over heels for my brother, I'll never know. Can't they get it into their heads that there's more to a person than just their looks?_ She asked herself before laying down on her towel and drinking up the Sun's rays.

As the Sun softly caressed her body with its soothing heat, Sue was unexpectedly interrupted by a low, gravelly voice that must've belonged to someone who must've been smoking all their lives. When she supported herself on her elbows and looked up at the person whose voice it belonged to, she found herself staring at a large guy, in the muscular kind, who appeared to be Johnny's age and around about Ben's height, if not taller.

"Hey there beautiful, how's about you join me and my friends in the sea and cool that nice body of yours." The blonde guy suggested, flexing his muscles as though it would entice her into it. His eyes also staying at her body rather at her face.

_See what I mean? Always about the looks_, she told herself as she gave the guy her nicest "No thank you" smile, "You know, I would love to take you up on that offer, but you see this," she then showed him her hand. A stunning gold band with tiny diamonds set on its shoulders and a silver diamond shaped as a flower petal on its centre was fitted onto her right ring finger, "Means that I'm sadly taken. Anyway, I don't think my fiancé would like the idea of me "frolicking" behind his back." She said it in a way that would get the guy to back off but to her surprise it didn't.

"Who says he has to know?" He hinted with his eyebrows, the smirk on his face getting bigger.

_This guy's starting to test my nerves_. Sue sat up, covering herself with Johnny's towel that was lying next to hers, "Don't you ever give up whenever a girl turns you down?" She asked exasperatingly, thankfully saved by her little brother, who she spotted running up to them, his blond hair matted down and his skin slick from playing in the sea.

"Hey sis, is there a problem?" Johnny asked, his hands on his slender hips, the latter part of his question aimed mostly at the other guy who finally seemed to get the message.

The guy, obviously knowing by now that she wasn't going to comply, apologized for his boorish behaviour and returned to his friends. Never looking back.

"What was up with that guy, Sue?" Johnny asked with concern evident in his voice, taking a seat next to her and not really caring that sand was now sticking to his rear-end.

Sue sighed, giving him back his towel and laying back down on hers. Her palms resting on her flat stomach, "Oh it's nothing to worry about Johnny. Just someone trying to play "hook-up" and not realizing that _no_ actually means no."

The two exchanged laughs, the brotherly-sisterly kind, before the moment was disrupted by the sound of Sue's cell-phone ringing in her bag. Leant on her side, Sue flipped it open to see Reed's name flashing on the screen, "It's Reed. He must have found something on the disappearances of those atomic factories scattered around the world that's been flying all over the news."

Pressing the green "Answer" button, Sue pressed it to her ear, "Hi Reed, have you found any new results yet on those disappearances?"

"Yes, my dear but I don't want to explain it over the phone. It's best if I show you all. Head back here with Johnny and I'll contact Ben."

"Alright Reed, we're just collecting our things, and then we'll be on our way."

"Okay Sue, see you in a moment."

"Yes, bye Reed." They both then hang up, and she slipped it back into her bag, "Let's go Johnny. Duty's a calling." She smiled, tapping his naked shoulder lightly before collecting her stuff and toeing into her flip-flops.

"Aw! Reed's always spoiling my fun!" He whined, following his sister back to the car parked in the parking lot across the street from the beach. Hearing the calling of his name from the bunch of girls he frolicked with just moments ago as they left the scene.

* * *

Once they had arrived at their contemporary home, on the top floor of a three-storey dingbat on 5th Avenue, they park the car in the parking space underneath the building and hurry up the stairs, both clearly wanting to know what Reed had found out about the disappearances of those factories. Unlocking the door with her key Sue strolled into the three bedroom apartment, her flips-flops flapping against the soles of her feet, and literally threw her bag down on the couch as she passed it, with Johnny following shortly behind once he'd closed the door.

Passing through the kitchen and the living room, Sue knocked on the door situated next to the TV and was welcomed by a voice coming from within. It was obviously Reed's, "Come on in, darling."

When Sue entered she saw her fiancé, Reed Richards, standing by the large printer positioned next to the large bay window that looked over the gardens of the dingbat, his skin that was showing gleaming in the sunlight. When Sue took more noticed of what he was wearing, she couldn't help but smile. He was wearing the white t-shirt he had personalized by a very good friend of his who owned a place that manufactured all kinds of clothing. Exclusively written in the centre of a large, burning love-heart in bold, black letters were the words "My heart burns for Sue" and she'd fallen instantly in love with it. Also, it clung to his upper body and showed off his surprisingly defined muscles, especially in the arm and abdomen area. Not that Sue was looking or anything.

Along with it he also wore the dark navy jeans that she'd bought him for his 23rd birthday, which was a few months ago now. As Johnny took his seat on the cream couch on the other side of the room, Sue strolled up behind Reed and wrapped her arms round his waist, "Hello, lover. Did you miss me?" Her voice was the desiring, seductive type that sent chills up Reed's spine and made him want to just forget everything he was working on and take her into the bedroom.

However, being the man that Reed was, he managed to control himself once he realized that Johnny was also in the room, "Hello yourself, honey. Don't I always?" He then turned in her arms and also wrapped his arms round her waist, leaning forward to capture her soft, pink-coloured lips in a loving kiss.

They were disrupted by what sounded like someone hacking up their guts. The happy couple smiled when they broke away, and turned to see Johnny with a finger in his throat, "Ugh! Please, any more and I think I'm gonna vom up today's breakfast! I thought you had some news on the factory disappearances? If I knew it was a sign for you two to "canoodle", I would've stayed at the beach."

The bright and breezy couple eventually pulled themselves apart, and Reed spun back to the printer, retrieving the pictures he'd just printed.

"Now, while we wait for Ben to arrive, I want you two to take a look at these pictures." Reed then passed them each a photo, watching them as they observed them with their brows furrowing identically.

"Look at the size of that hole!" Johnny exclaimed, his bright, blue eyes wide with disbelief, "It's the size of New York City!"

"Who or, rather, **what** could have done this?" Sue asked, her expression just like Johnny's was before.

"I haven't a clue Sue, but, as you well know, it's been happening all over the world. Australia, South America, Asia. Since the latest broadcast of the incident that occurred in Daya Bay near Hong Kong, I've modified my computer to detect any such signs of massive seismic activity. When it happens again, we'll know about it."

As Reed sat in front of his computer, his fingers tapping away at the keyboard, Sue looked with concern at the photo in her hand before putting it down and standing behind Reed. She gently rubbed his shoulders, kneading away the tension that was obviously in them.

"Reed, do you think the Fantastic Four are up to this? Maybe this is _too_ much for us.** Thor** or **Iron Man **can deal with it." Sue advised, a little hope in her voice.

It was Johnny's voice who answered her, now standing up rather than lounging on the couch, "Are you kidding me sis? We may have only had our powers for just a week but we can dish it out with whoever's behind all of this. Just ask ol' Benjy when he comes."

Just then there was an almighty crash at the front door as the man in question tried to open the door without pulling it off its hinges but failing to do so.

"_**Gonna 'ave ta fix the front door again!**_" Ben bellowed, even though he was talking as normally as everyone else would, because of his transformation, his tone of voice had decreased incredibly. He placed it haphazardly in front of the squared archway that would've been their front door before making his way to the others.

"Oh, don't worry about the door, Ben. It can be easily fixed." Reed called from the other room where they were all residing in. As soon as Ben was in the room, garbed in that large, tanned trench-coat that he wore to cover his large, orange-skinned, rock-hide body so as not to attract anyone's undivided attention, Reed showed him another photo of the incidents. This one was the most recent, the nuclear plant that was "swallowed up" in Daya Bay, Hong Kong.

"_**What am I lookin' at here Reed**_?" Ben asked, shrugging off the trench-coat and throwing it onto the couch, hearing an heated "Hey!" when it landed on top of Johnny's head.

"This, Ben, is what's left of several nuclear power plants scattered across the world. In all of the reports thus far, they all state that the occupants felt the earth trembling beneath their feet and, before they even know it, the buildings suddenly disappear, leaving behind a massive hole 60 feet in diameter."

Ben scratched the back of his head, the noise sounding to the others what rock would sound like if it was rubbed against another rock, if that made any sense at all. "_**So? Why are ya feedin' me all this garbage when we should be taking down the guy that's obviously behind all this**_?" He thought, being Reed he'd have everything figured out and they'd be all set and ready to go, but life, like always, wasn't always that simple.

"I'm sorry Ben, but all we can do for now is wait until the next incident occurs. My computer should notify us once it detects such activity." Reed informed before sitting back at his computer, fingers again tapping fast against the keyboard.

"Well then, if all we're gonna do is wait, I'm heading back to the beach," Johnny proclaimed, pushing himself off the couch and strolling up to the door, "You can call me when you've found something." He was about to leave the trio in the room when suddenly Reed's computer starting beeping constantly.

"Hold on a second, Johnny. According to my computer, massive amounts of seismic energy's about to take place in…"

* * *

* - _Means they're speaking in their natural language_

**30km north of Cape Town, South Africa**

Being ten hours ahead of California's time zone, the employees were all getting ready to go home for the day. Once they were all gone, thus started the night shift for all the security personnel. As the armed men stood at their posts, which were built on the N, S, E and W points of the facility, either watching the surveillance feed or observing the area, they all seemed to feel a slight tremor. One of the guards posted at the northern post, Thandiwe Beaubois who'd only worked at the plant for just under a week, turned from his spot outside the post to peer inside in order to talk with the other guard, Baruti Haai.

"_Baruti, what on Earth was that_?" He asked, both with concern and surprise.

Baruti, having worked at the plant since it first opened for operation, knew the place like the back of his hand as he looked up from his relaxed state in the chair in front of the security feed and huffed, as though he had no care in the world, "_Nothing to worry about Thandiwe. Just a small tremor. We get them all the time_."

Hearing this it relaxed the young man a certain bit before he returned to his post outside, feeling as though life was flying by slower than usual. About another minute later, another tremor occurred. This time it was bigger and lasted a little longer than the first one.

"_That one was larger than the other! Should we be worrying now_?" Thandiwe asked again, his voice a little shaken up now at the fact that he had this gut feeling that something big was about to happen.

"_You obviously haven't been around tremors before. They'll die down. We only have a couple every so months. Just relax_." Baruti appeased, lying back down on his chair, bringing his freshly-made black coffee to his lips and taking a sip, giving out a satisfied, "Ah."

Nevertheless, Thandiwe was still anxious about them, standing firmer this time. Ready to be on the move if the tremors got bigger and they were all ordered to evacuate. After another minute had passed, the tremors were back but this time much, much bigger than before and didn't seem like it was going to end. Abruptly, Thandiwe rushed inside the post and grabbed Baruti vigorously by his wrist as he led him outside.

"_Come on, we've got to get as far away as possible. This tremor feels like it's going to take the whole plant with it. So we've got to move our butts if we don't want to get taken along with it_." Thandiwe reported, still pulling him along as he, Baruti, and several others he could see, ran for the hills, so to speak.

Only, moments after Thandiwe had spoken, something unimaginable happened. The entire facility was suddenly "sucked up" by the very earth itself in a matter of seconds. In its place, two gigantic, green-skinned scaly claws rise up from the large, black hole to grip onto the edge. Pulling itself up a towering, green creature, one that could be mistaken for Godzilla, emerged and emitted a powerful roar that shook the earth beneath the men's feet.

Thandiwe pointed up at the creature, his eyes, like the others, wide with both astonishment and terror, "_What the hell is that?!_"

Baruti answered in quick succession, "_I don't know but I'm not sticking around to find out!_" And with that said, he and the other men ran away in the other direction, followed shortly behind by Thandiwe.

Once the men were far enough away, a small, hunched figure emerged from the large hole, wielding a large, wooden cane and stood before the large creature, sure to be crushed within seconds. Nonetheless the hunched figure, seemingly fearless of the tower creature, raised his cane and bellowed as loud as his voice could let him, "Enough! Return to my lair underneath! Our mission here is completed! GO!"

Obeying its master, the creature lurked back into the hole, with the figure tailing behind, his menacing laughter the only thing you would've heard if you witnessed such an inconceivable event…

**

* * *

**

Back in Central City, California

"Looks like it's happened again. This time at a nuclear power facility 30 km outside of Cape Town." Reed informed, eyes glued to the screen while the others looked on.

"What does this all mean, Reed?" Sue asked, her hands up by her side, "Why is it happening and how, for that matter?"

"That's what we've got to find out, Sue." Reed replied, his fingers tapping against the keyboard, "By studying the recent cave-ins, I've pin-pointed an uncharted island located exactly between them in the Indian Ocean. And that is where we'll find our answer!"

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get to the jet and high-tail it out of here! Finally, the Fantastic Four's got their very first mission!" Johnny exclaimed, flaming on unintentionally with excitement.

Ben thumbed in Johnny's direction, "_**I'm with pint-size over there. I've been waitin' for an excuse to see how strong I really am**_!" He incited, clenching his fists in anticipation.

As Reed got up from off his chair, he walked over to the wardrobe in the corner of the room and took out their temporary suits; which were basically jumpsuits coloured dark-purple, passing each one to the appropriate wearer.

"A few days after the accident that gave us our powers, I modified these jumpsuits so that they can conform with our powers. Mine won't tear whenever I stretch. Sue, yours will turn invisible when you do and Johnny, yours won't burn whenever you "flame on"," Reed explained, watching as Johnny and Ben went to their bedrooms to get changed into their "uniforms".

"I have a _bad_ feeling about this but like I've always said since the night you proposed: "Wherever you go, I'm with you every step of the way"," Sue gave in, kissing Reed on the cheek before heading into their bedroom in order to slip into her suit.

* * *

**Unknown Island, somewhere in the Indian Ocean**

Several hours later, flying over the Indian Ocean in Reed's private jet and garbed in their jump-suits, the Fantastic Four could see the island in the distance.

"Okay, there's the island up ahead. Remember, once we land, we stick together. I have no idea what we'll be up against, but if we stick together, we have a better chance at surviving whatever's thrown at us…if anything." Reed informed, the jet getting nearer to the island as he spoke.

After he, and with a lot of help from Ben, safely landed the jet on the sandiest shore of the island, they all climb out and start their exploration, starting by heading into the forest, seeming to be thick with vines and other such flora and fauna. What seemed to be like hours, trekking through endless forest and not seeming to find anything out of the ordinary, the Fantastic Four come to a large opening in the island's only mountain. Its peak too high to see. From one of the front pockets of Reed's jumpsuit, he pulled out a rather complex-looking gadget, looking to the others like a PDA, but they also knew that it was so much more than that. Lifting it out in front of him Reed pressed down the only red button on the pad, and it immediately sprung to life by discharging what looked to be a 3-D holographic layout of the mountain itself.

"According to these schematics, this cave's actually an entrance to a large tunnel that seems to go on for miles. Could whatever's swallowing up the factories across the globe be inside?" Reed asked, more to himself than the others while their attention was on the mouth of the cave itself.

"Ah, Reed. I think you should put that away and back away from the entrance," Sue proclaimed, stepping away from Reed, with Johnny and Ben following closely beside her.

Reed had his back to the cave and therefore, couldn't see that something massive was approaching them from within the darkness, "What are you talking about Sue?" He pocketed the gadget back into this pocket before he felt the earth shake beneath him.

Turning to see what had spooked the others, Reed's eyes widen in both astonishment and fright when they looked upon the inconceivable sight before him, "Oh my." He gasped, as the massive monstrosity revealed itself to the Fantastic Four.

Standing at an immense 15 foot, the green-skinned, creature stood on four legs, which were as thick as Giant Sequoia trees and had wings on its back that must have spanned out to around 20 feet, if not more. On a side note, it also had a noticeably long pointed tail. Nonetheless, what stuck out the most as the Fantastic Four stare in awe at the magnificent creature was the simple fact that it had three heads, each bearing a pair of glowing, yellow eyes that seemed to glare into their very souls. Once it took sight of their presence, all three heads opened their massive jaws and emitted a ear-deafening roar before soaring into the sky.

"Reed! What the hell is that? Is that what's been causing the cave-ins?" Johnny exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the flying "whatever-it-was" zoning in on them at that very moment.

"Everyone! Fan out! It's going to try and crush us!" Reed ordered, stretching out to grab Sue with an enlarged hand before stretching out of the way by forming longer legs.

Johnny, with his fists clenched by his side, cried, "FLAME ON!" and just like that, his entire body, including his jumpsuit, burst into blazing flame as he flew into the air.

Ben, on the other hand, transferred his superior strength down to his legs in order to dive out of the way. He did so just in time before the creature's tremendous feet connected with the area of ground the Fantastic Four were just occupying, causing a minor shockwave.

"_**Crush me?**_" The Thing asked incredulously, "**_I like ta see it try, Stretch_**." However, before the Thing could even stand his ground, the towering creature swung its tail round and whipped him so hard, it sent him soaring across the air before crashing down hard into the earth.

"Ben!" Sue cried, using her powers of invisibility to slip by the creature undetected on her way to see if Ben was alright after such a brutal attack. When she reached him, she could see that the force of the creature's attack and the rock-hide, near-invulnerable form of the Thing had him lying in a deep crater the size of an Olympic swimming pool.

"Ben! Ben, are you alright? Speak to me?" Sue asked frantically, spinning around to see that Reed and Johnny were busy holding off the creature but to little effect. Johnny's fire blasts were like pinching titanium and Reed was using his brilliant mind to think up all kinds of shapes to mould his body to somehow hold the beast.

"**_I'm okay, Susie. Just caught off guard, that's all_**," the Thing groaned, seeing her turn invisible again, rubbing his hand against the back of his head as he stumbled to get to his feet, "**_You'd better stay invisible. Don't wancha getting' hurt, do we?_**"

Susie could only watch as Ben stomped past her, the creature in his line of sight, "**_Alright, ugly! It's Clobberin' Time!_**" He roared as he gathered up momentum and, as soon as he was in range, the Thing speared the creature, sending them both crashing into the side of the mountain.

Three of the Fantastic Four watched in astonishment as the move had disorientated the creature long enough for Ben to grab it by the tail with both hands, spin it around on the spot until he and it looked like a spinning top before finally letting go, it flying through the air and into the motionless sea.

"Well done Ben! You took care of that creature, whatever it was, hook line and sinker!" Reed congratulated, patting his best friend on the back just as Sue and Johnny joined them.

"Yeah, big guy. That creature's definitely sunk," Johnny pointed out, the signs of bubbles breaking the surface telling the Four that the creature wouldn't be bothering them anytime soon.

"Come on. The sooner we get to the bottom of this, the sooner we can wrap this up and go home," Reed informed, leading them to the cave's mouth to venture into the mountain.

Just then, the sound of cracking could be heard beneath Reed's and Johnny's feet and before they could move out of the way, the floor collapsed, causing the two to fall into the black hole.

"Reed! Johnny!" Sue called out but it was too late for her or Ben to save them as their cries echoed from the seemingly bottomless pit…

* * *

As they continued to descend, Johnny was too frantic to "flame on" and fly so Reed got into action, using his abilities to stretch his arms to grab the teenager by his wrists before turning the rest of his body into a parachute.

As soon as they touched the ground, Reed reformed into his original state while Johnny gathered himself before enveloping his hand in fire so they could see where they'd fallen into. The tunnel was made as though something huge had dug through it, possibly done by that creature that had just tackled. On one side of the tunnel, the two could see fantastic bright light that shone as bright as the Sun itself.

"What do you think that is Reed?" Johnny asked, narrowing his eyes as though it might improve his vision somewhat.

"I don't know Johnny but it's emitting such fantastic light, it could be mistaken for the Sun itself. Come on, let's hurry and find out what it is. Maybe it's what causing the cave-ins," Reed uttered, following Johnny who was lighting the way.

* * *

Meanwhile, back up top, Sue was frantic in wanting to know what had happened to Reed and Johnny. The two out of three most important people in her life. Were they dead? Badly injured at the bottom? All sorts of horrible images were going through her mind as she tried to fight off Ben but obviously getting her nowhere.

"**_Hey, easy there Susie. Easy. We're gonna find 'em and when we do, they're gonna be fine. Besides, Reed will look after Matchstick, ya know he will. Okay?_**" Ben asked in comfort, his enlarged hand resting ever so delicately on her shoulders.

Sue, who would've started crying if Ben hadn't had calmed her down, nodded in accord, "Yes. Yes, you're right. They're alright. I know it. They're safe," but her attitude soon changed quickly, "But that doesn't change the fact that we still need to find them to make sure they _are_ okay." And like a woman on a mission, she treaded heavily past Ben and into the darkness that was the cavern, nothing would be able to stop her from finding her "boys" with Ben following shortly behind.

* * *

Back down below Reed and Johnny were still following the light, but because they were so near to it Johnny had withdrawn his flame. Also, as they continued to pursue the light, they had to raise their arms up above their heads so it shadowed their eyes because the light was started to get too intense for them as they got closer. When they could go no further because of the sheer luminosity of the bright, white light, Reed and Johnny fell onto their hands and knees, before eventually collapsing onto their fronts, unconsciousness overtaking them. They never saw the hunched figure wearing a dark green cape and ordering two of his slaves with a wave of his bo staff to take them further inside…

What may have been hours or maybe mere minutes, Reed and Johnny eventually woke from the darkness that had overtook them when they gazed at that suspicious light for too long. What surprised them the most was the fact that they were still in the room, but further inside, and covering their eyes were grey-coloured visors that protected them from the light.

"Argh, my head…" Johnny moaned, his hand placed on the side of his head, a headache coming along as he helped Reed to his feet.

"Unbelievable! The light -- it actually caused us to lose consciousness and how did we get these visors?" Reed was in wonder. Even though the light was so bright, through the visors it was like looking through a pair of sunglasses but these were a lot more powerful.

"So, I see you have recovered. It's about time! I was beginning to worry that you'd never wake up, which would be a pity." The raspy voice occurring from somewhere in the room but the duo still couldn't see very well, even with the visors on.

"Who -- who are you? What is this place?" Reed couldn't help asking, it was quite intriguing to have one of the greatest minds on the planet and not know the answer to something as fascinating as this place.

"The reason you cannot see, in which I had my Moloids place those visors over your eyes to stop you going completely blind, is the simple fact you're standing in the magnificent Valley of the Diamonds!! Without those visors, you would have had to say goodbye to your sight!" The figure's voice was scratchy, like he'd smoked too many cigarettes. "And as for me -- you can call me the Mole Man!"

As he stood close enough for them to get a good look at him, they could obviously see why he had chosen that exact name. The Mole Man stood at a meagre 4'10", he was overweight, and wore a similar visor to what they were wearing. His posture was very poor, and his unusually large nose gave him a grotesque, almost mole-like appearance. Behind him were two gangly, human-looking creatures whose skin looked like the colour and feel of mud and who also wore visors. Obviously to protect their eyes from the bright light the diamonds were giving off as they sat idly below.

* * *

"Reed…Johnny…got to find them!" Sue seemed to be humming to herself, suddenly feeling exhausted after trekking what seemed to be miles into the endless cavern that the three-headed creature had come out of. Ben, who was leading the way, was using his torch Reed had put in his right side-pocket of his jumpsuit, same as he'd done to the other three. This being a torch created by Reed, it emitted such a powerful beam of light, it filled out the entire breadth of the tunnel.

Sue sat herself down on a boulder, trying to get her breath back when Ben noticed she wasn't following him. Turning on the spot he saw her sitting down, the back of her hand on her forehead and panting in quick breaths, like she'd just run a marathon. Her cheeks flushing crimson.

"Oh, I've got to stop Ben… just…for a minute. I need to get…my breath back," Sue wheezed, the thinning of the air as they descended further into the cavern getting the better of her.

"**_It's alright, Susie. Take as much time as you need,_**" Ben reassured, the thinning somehow not affecting him as badly as it was Sue. Then he heard something. A slight shuffling of stone, as though it was being picked up or…_moving?_ The sudden thought entered Ben's mind and as he swung the torch round in the direction of the sound, he saw it in the bright beam of torchlight.

An immense creature, probably standing ten, eleven foot, emerged several feet behind Sue and Ben could see that it was made from the earth itself. On what appeared to be its head, two black holes formed the eyes while its mouth was shaped with jagged teeth. It looked to Ben like when you carve a pumpkin into a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween sans the flicking light inside it. The rest of its body was similar to that of Ben's yet this creature was made of the rock that covered the very walls and floor.

"**_Susie! Watch out behind ya!_**" Ben warned but he was too far to save her from its vigorous attack, watching as she turned on the spot and cried out in horror at what it was about to do.

"NNNOOO!" Sue screamed, her cry echoing throughout the tunnel, causing it to shake a little but thankfully, not cause a cave-in. In an instant before it struck her down Sue shut her eyes and stuck her hands out in front of her defensively, as though it might save her from harm.

Nobody knew for sure what happened next. Just as Sue performed the feeble defensive attempt, the creature struck her but thankfully, instead of striking her down and conceivably killing her, it only sent her flying across the air and landing a foot in front of Ben with not even a scratch on her.

Ben was quickly to her side, helping her to her feet, "**_Are ya alright, Susie?_**" He asked, worry heavy in his voice.

Sue nodded her head, hand placed softly on the side of it, "Yes, Ben. Yes, I'm fine. Miraculously."

Ben had no time to make sure as the creature roared and advanced in their direction. Passing the torch to Sue, Ben used one arm to move her behind him, his eyes squarely on the creature, "**_Sue, stay behind me an' shine that light on ol' ugly here so I can see what I'm hitting!_**" He then narrowed his eyes and cracked his rock-like fingers, Sue cringing at the sound of it before hearing Thing cry out, "**_Alright pumpkin-head, it's Clobberin' Time!_**"

As if an imaginary wrestling bell dinged for the brawl to start, Ben dashed as fast as his rock-hide body could go and speared the creature vigorously, sending him and it hard against the wall. There Ben lifted up his fists and started pounding it in the face and chest, hearing its rock body crack against his own. The creature, whatever it was, managed to lift both its legs up so its knees were against his chest and forced them with all of its power toward Ben's broad chest. It connected successfully, Ben silently kicking himself for allowing such a move, as he was sent flying across the cavern, his back crashing into the wall on the other side. The cavern rocked and Sue steadied herself as all she could do was stand and watch the skirmish, holding the torch so Ben could what he was hitting.

Shaking the dizziness away, Ben rubbed his head before climbing back onto his feet, his fists clenching as they build with raw strength, "**_Think ya pretty tough, aye "Rocky"? Well, I've been known to be quite tough too! Here let me show ya!_**" The orange-skinned, rock-hide hulk cracked his neck, feeling his strength returning ten-fold before charging at the creature again.

The creature, although simple-minded, anticipated the Thing's attack and braced itself, forming a tight "Defensive End" stance, ready to hinder whatever he was going to throw at him. The two titans clashed, sending out a rippling wave of force that knocked Sue off her feet, but she managed to keep the torchlight on the two. This creature maybe taller and slightly stronger, but Ben knew he had the sheer determination to overcome this obstacle and continue their search for Reed and Johnny. "Rocky", who Ben was now nicknaming, clenched its fists, pulled back his left before forcing it forward and hitting Ben square in the jaw. It did the same with its right, then with the left again, sending Ben stepping back twice but they weren't powerful enough to move him, let alone take him down like they were supposed to.

"**_Is that all ya got?_**" Ben smirked, hinting his broad rock eyebrows and crunching his fists again. The creature, if it did have a mind of its own, Ben couldn't really tell, hunched back in shock and disbelief. It was one of the strongest of the Mole Man's creations and yet, its punches didn't even affect this…thing!

Sue continued to watch in anticipation, her mind racing between finding Reed and Johnny and hoping that Ben can take down this creature quickly so they can be on their way again. Ben, using his superhuman strength, ripped a portion of the cavern wall out and, utilizing his years of football training, hurled it as though he was throwing a pass to a fellow receiver. Like before the creature predicted the attack, catching the large rock in its gargantuan hands. Nonetheless Ben also anticipated this, using its moment of vulnerability to run up to the creature, pummel right through the rock with his strength and connect with its face, sending it off its feet. It soared through the air and, thanks to the power behind Ben's punch, crashed through the very cavern wall itself. Where the creature had crashed through the wall, it left behind a huge hole with light coming through it. It wasn't as strong as the Sun's so it didn't lead outside, but it was strong enough for them to see sans the torch.

"You did it Ben but where do you think it leads?" Sue congratulated before asking, looking through the hole to see that it led into another tunnel but this time with lighting to show them the way.

"**_I dunno Susie but it might lead to Reed and Johnny_**," Ben suggested as he helped Sue onto his back, holding him tight by his neck, "**_Okay Susie, hold on tight_**."

Taking one look at the drop, Ben leaped down without taking a moment's hesitation and just as quickly landed safely on both legs, releasing a diminutive tremor beneath his feet. Kneeling down to allow Sue drop to her feet, they looked in both directions and decided to head in the route that descended further into the earth.

"**_Looks like we're headin' down that way_**," Ben replied, waiting for Sue to catch her breath.

Sue found herself able to breathe easier in this tunnel than before and knew Ben was right, "I guess so Ben. Lead the way. I don't want to take anymore chances."

Together they rush down the tunnel, both wondering what awaited them at the end of it. Hopefully Reed and Johnny but after what they'd just faced, it could be almost anything…

* * *

Back to the two men in question, they had been led into Mole Man's throne room where he would enlighten them in how he came to be. Johnny's eyes observed the room and found it to be quite the opposite to what he thought a throne room should look like. Instead of a smooth, marbled floor with an long red carpet that unfolded from the throne to the entrance, there was only dirt and granite. Instead of luxurious paintings of kings and queens of old and expensive-looking wallpaper, there was only more dirt and speckles of the diamonds that were residing outside. Instead of a glorious-looking throne with define features on its body, there was only a shabby looking one made out of stone where Mole Man had parked himself.

"So you people have never heard of Mole Man, eh? Well, the whole world will know the name! For soon, the Mole Man will have the entireworld in his power!" He announced, sounding to Johnny like those Bond villains who crave for world domination before they're hopelessly defeated by Bond, James Bond.

"How did you get here? What is this place?" Reed asked, sounding more interested in their surroundings than the threat Mole Man was imposing.

The hunched figure shuffled in his seat, angry at the fact that the man wasn't even the least bit interested in what he'd just announced but the Mole Man was somewhat intrigued by the man's intelligence that seemed to radiate off him like heat. He eventually caved in.

"It all happened many years ago that I vaguely remember how I got here myself," the Mole Man answered, sitting up from his slouched position on his "throne" to get a better look at his captives, leaning on his bo-staff as if it were a cane. "However, what I _do_ remember is the sheer fact that humanity cast me away for just the way I looked. Women saw me as being repulsive without even getting to know the real _me_! Employers couldn't hire me because I would scare away the customers! And worse of all, the people in general just thought my looks were the work of make-up!"

At this point, in his explanation the Mole Man was fuming, his face and especially his cheeks were bright red, and he was holding his bo-staff so tight in his hands that the two captives thought he was going to snap it in two. Nevertheless, his anger died down, and he loosened his grip on it, continuing from where he left off, "Anyway, I couldn't stand living with humanity for any longer that I set off to find a place where I could live on my own and not be scorned by anyone any longer!"

"Soon my prayers were answered. After sailing for days on my makeshift skiff and wondering if I'd ever see land again, I found myself washed ashore on this very island. In front of me stood one of many caverns into the mountain and, once inside, it led me to the land of my dreams…the Earth's very centre. However a freak avalanche occurred and I found myself falling into a dark chasm below. I had somehow miraculously survived the fall but at the cost of losing my sight. I had found the centre of the Earth, but I was now stranded here…like a human mole if you will."

His voice was calming when he told the two of his origins but suddenly it was back to being loud, menacing, "This was to be the last of my misfortunes! My luck began to turn to my favour! I mastered the creatures down here -- made them do my bidding -- and with their help, I've carved out an underground empire!"

The Mole Man then stepped down from his 'throne', picking up his own staff and another as he did, before throwing it to Reed, who just managed to catch it with both hands. Too fixated on trying to figure a way of getting out of this kooky place.

"I've conquered everything about me! I've even taught myself how to sense things in the dark -- like the mole! I will show you! Try and strike me with that staff. Try it, I say!" He exclaimed, flipping his own in his hands like an expert that he was.

Reed, really having no choice, gripped the staff tight and swung it vertically with all his known strength. The Mole Man sensing this, successfully blocked it, his bo-staff held up horizontally, "You see? Nothing can take me by surprise!" He praised himself, perceiving Reed's next attack to take out his legs but again evading it with quite a perfectly-executed back-flip.

The move had caused Reed to slam his against the floor hard, shattering it, before finding himself swept off his feet by Mole Man's staff, landing on the floor with a hard thud. The small figure then pressed the end of his bo-staff onto his chest, essentially winning the little skirmish.

"See? Even without my sight, I am still able to beat my opponents." The Mole Man replied audaciously, flipping the bo-staff in his hands and returning to his throne, but stopped just short of it to face his captives once again, "And before I have you both slain, I'd like to tell you what I have planned for your _precious_ world."

Johnny, at this moment in time, was helping Reed to stand to his feet, Reed's arm hooked around his shoulder while Johnny wrapped his free arm round Reed's waist to keep him steady.

"You okay, Reed?" Johnny asked with concern, the other nodding to confirm his condition.

"Yes Johnny, I'm fine," Reed replied, smiling at him to reassure the young boy, "Just some minor bruises. Nothing a little rest can't handle."

"Silence! How dare you interrupt me!" The Mole Man exclaimed, his face red as a strawberry, his hands clenched into fists. Two of his Moloids instinctively pushing the two members of the Fantastic Four onto their knees before returning to their guarding positions on either side of the Mole Man's throne.

"Now that I have your full attention once again, I can now proceed in telling you of my plan…As you may already know, several of the world's nuclear plants are being "swallowed up" and will continue to do so until I've gotten rid of them all. Once that's done, I shall unleash my horde of gigantic creatures to attack and destroy everything that lives above the surface!"

The Mole Man then turned to face Reed and Johnny, still down on their knees, pointing at them with his stubby forefinger, "And now, at my signal, those creatures of darkness, my denizens of Earth's centre, shall dispose of all of you witless intruders!"

At that moment in time one of the walls of the throne room started to crack, the sounds of pounding on the other side of it and before they knew it, the wall exploded in a mass of debris and dust, causing them all to look away. Once the dust lifted, they all turned to face what had caused it and both Reed and Johnny smiled in contentment to find Ben and Sue standing in the massive hole Ben had just created with his large fists.

"**_We'll just see about that, Mole Man!_**" Ben exclaimed, cracking his rock-like fingers as he advanced towards the diminutive mad-man.

The Mole Man, who was a lot quicker than the Thing, scurried to the other side of the room and pulled on a peculiar rope that was hanging from the ceiling, "Too late, fool! The dice is cast! Your end is nigh!" He proclaimed as the room started to rumble and the wall behind him started to open out.

Once the door was fully open, it revealed to the Fantastic Four a gargantuan creature with green, scaly skin, large claws protruding out from both its fingers and toes, and one heck of a roar which caused the very room to rumble again. Then the Fantastic Four flew into action; Johnny who could now let go of Reed because Sue was now holding him, cried out, "FLAME ON!" immediately enveloping his body into searing flame, and flying up into the sky.

Back and forth, soaring around the monster's head like a hornet, Johnny continued to elude its attempts to grasp him in its huge claws. Meanwhile, observing down below, the Mole Man was quietly making his escape through the wall that had just opened but Sue's eyes catch him, "Reed! The Mole Man! He's trying to escape!"

"Not if I can help it, Sue!" Reed claimed, stretching out the arm and grabbing the Mole Man by the scruff of his neck. Contracting his arm back to its normal size, Reed couldn't predict what happened next. As the Mole Man past the cord that opened the wall and signalled the gigantic monster, he'd seized it again and managed to pull on it repeatedly, summoning more monsters from within the opened wall.

"Come on Reed, we've got to get out of here! There are too many of them!" Sue exclaimed, herself and Ben already running back out of the hole that Ben had created just moments ago, followed shortly by Johnny, who was still in his fiery form flying overhead.

Dropping his captive Reed took one look back to see the Mole Man's army of underground gargoyles all shapes, sizes and colours. Quick to use his powers Reed elongated his legs to the height of stilts to cover more ground, scooping up Sue into his arms as he passed her. Hearing the screeching roars, snarls and the pounding footsteps approaching behind them, the Fantastic Four noticed that there was light at the end of the tunnel and, for once, was glad for it.

Reed, using his intelligence to formulate a plan, called out to Johnny, who was keeping up with them above, "Johnny! I need you to focus your heat upwards! Can you do that?"

"What for Reed?" Johnny asked incredulously, as Reed stretched out his neck, so he could be eye-level with him, "Because the heat will melt the earth and cause a rockslide. It'll hopefully seal the monsters and the Mole Man in!"

Johnny nodded his head and signalled with a salute, "Okay, boss! I'm right on it!" He then spun in the air, so he was facing the roof of the tunnel, turning up the heat and emitting it upwards. Soon he could see that the earth was starting to melt, causing the rocks submerged in it to plummet to the ground. As Johnny continued to emit sweltering hot flames, the entire tunnel began to rumble, now raining rocks of all sizes. As Johnny reached the light, he found himself looking upon the beach, not too far away from where Reed had landed his private jet, and turned in the air to find that Reed's plan had worked. The entrance to the cave was now sealed off by the layers upon layers of large rock, and he could just faintly hear the countless roars of monsters behind it.

Once the Fantastic Four were all safely back in the jet, body suits covered in dirt and holes, and in the air, Johnny spoke up from the back, "We did it! We saved the world from the Mole Man in our very first mission as the Fantastic Four! But where is the Mole Man, Reed? I thought you grabbed him?"

"I left him behind Johnny. It's best that way! There was no real place for him in our world…perhaps he'll find peace down there…" Reed sighed, who couldn't even start to imagine what it would be like to live like the Mole Man did.

"I just hope we have seen the last of him!" Sue replied, lying back on her chair, completely exhausted after an ordeal like that as Reed and Ben flew them into the sunset…

The End of Issue 1


	3. Wrongfully Accused!

**Issue 2**

**Central City, California**

It was another unimaginably sunny day but, alas, not everyone could enjoy it as it was a Monday and most of them were at work. Unfortunately, it was on this particular day that something illicit occurred in Central City's 1st National bank, one of the largest in the city.

Parking itself outside the more-than-half-a-century year old building, was a peculiar blue van with a '4' inscribed on its sides, and emerging from its back doors was a large, orange, rock-skinned man wearing light-blue spandex leggings with dark navy boots and a teenaged boy, with striking spiky blond hair and garbed in a light-blue spandex body-suit. Climbing out of the front was a twenty-something brown-haired man, who was greying at the temples, and a slender blonde woman, who was around the same age as the brunette if not a little younger. They both wore matching body-suits like the teenaged boy and all of them had '4' etched on them.

They were Reed Richards, AKA Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm, AKA Invisible Girl, her little brother Johnny, AKA Human Torch and Ben Grimm, AKA The Thing, of the Fantastic Four and on this particular sunny day, they were going to **rob** Central City's 1st National Bank!

(*_The costumes they're wearing are the movie versions*_)

* * *

As they approach the glass doors Reed only had to nod to them and Ben was charging toward them, immediately crashing through like a runaway freight train, only stopping once he was inside.

Glass flew everywhere, people were screaming and the alarms were ringing like crazy.

As the other three stepped through the entrance Ben had just crashed through, glass crunching beneath their boots, Reed glanced around the room and grinned evilly, "Isn't that just sweet music to your ears, darling?" He asked his blonde girlfriend who, her hands on hips, looked up to him and grinned likewise, "It's one of my favourites."

Turning back to face the cowering citizens, Reed took a few steps forward and spoke loudly for all of them to hear, "Listen to me, people of Central City. As you can obviously see, we are the Fantastic Four and we are robbing this bank! If you cooperate with us thoroughly, we won't have to cause you any harm! Now, all of you, stand to one side of the room while the manager of this bank stay right where you are!"

When they didn't attempt to move because they were too scared to move, Reed spoke again, this time shouting, "Stand at the other side of the room or Johnny's going to burn you to a crisp!"

As soon as they saw Johnny's whole body ignite into flame, they all clambered to their feet and hurried to the side where Reed was pointing. The bank manager, Greg Holby, was left standing where he was behind, the bullet-proofed counter. To the Fantastic Four, he was an average-looking middle-aged man in a black, tailored suit who wore glasses and was thinning on top. They could also see that he was sweating like crazy, shivering with fright and swallowed a lump in his throat as they approached him.

"Now," Reed peered at Holby's name tag, "Greg Holby…you shall escort us to your vault with no trouble or you can guess what I'll have Ben do to you if you do." He then spun on his heels to face Sue, "Sue, dear, stay at the entrance. When the police arrive, you know what to do."

Sue nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about, and stepped back to the entrance, waiting patiently for the police to arrive. She had a few tricks up her sleeve that she'd liked to "demonstrate" on them.

Mr. Holby nodded his head unsteadily, taking another gulp before leading them out of the room and down one of the long hallways, with Reed beside him, Johnny behind and Ben collecting all the civilians, staying at the very back. Once they'd reached the vault, Reed pushed him out of the way, gesturing Johnny forward, who knew exactly what he wanted him to do, and "flaming on". In his fiery form, Johnny simply walked through the 2-ton steel door as the searing hot fire that surrounded his body melted the door like a hot knife through butter.

Once he'd made it through, he stepped back out, standing by to wait for Reed's orders, "Johnny, make sure the civilians can't escape and then help us empty the vault of its treasures."

Johnny nodded, projecting a stream of flame around the cowering hostages, including Mr. Holby, until it was a semi-circle and then left to join the duo inside, their hostages' crying and screaming music to their ears…

* * *

Back at the entrance Sue was still jadedly waiting for the police to arrive when she heard their sirens wailing in the distance.

"Finally," she seemed to purr, "I was starting to get rather bored just standing here." She then pushed herself off the pillar she leant against and stepped outside, hands on hips.

Once they'd arrived, the police cars screeched to a halt, their sirens immediately switched off as the officers climbed out, their weapons drawn and aiming straight at Sue, who simply grinned at them.

"Invisible Girl! Lie face down on the ground and put your hands behind your head! We don't want to harm you!" One of the officers, probably the head guy, called out on the police megaphone.

"Fat chance!" She exclaimed, big grin on her face as she dashed forward toward the group before disappearing from sight.

The officers never got the chance to even gasp when one of their own was punched hard in the gut by an invisible force before being judo-thrown over his car's bonnet. This was obviously Invisible Girl but how were they going to take her down if they couldn't see her? In the next few minutes, four more officers were down, two with broken arms and one with a concussion, which only left the head guy, Off. Harry Benson, and his partner, Clive Tyler.

"What are we going to do, Benson? How do we stop her if we can't see her?" Clive asked, who was frantically aiming left to right, as a soft voice whispered into his ear, "You can't."

Before Clive could swing around and perhaps get a shot out, Sue grabbed his arm holding the gun and twisted his wrist hard, hearing a sharp crack which caused the officer to drop the gun and yell out in pain. Next she flipped him onto his back and then knocked him unconsciousness with a kick to the face. Off. Benson went down just as fast. As soon as she'd kicked Clive unconscious, Sue flipped into a handstand, grabbed Benson around the neck with her legs and tossed him over. The manoeuvre was similar to that of the standard wrestling move, "the Frankensteiner". Once he was on the floor, she punched him out cold and reappeared kneeling over him, not even out of breath. "Well that was a letdown but what can you expect?" She asked herself, dusting her hands and strolling back to the entrance to wait for the others…

After taking everything from the vault and locking the hostages inside, Reed, Ben and Johnny met Sue at the entrance, grins on their faces as their plan was working perfectly. Wasting no time the "Fantastic Four" head back out the bank, the trio of men admiring Sue's work on the police force and climb back into the van.

As Reed pulled the vehicle into drive, he pushed a button on the dashboard and the van utilized the same ability as Sue; it turned invisible, making it a lot easier for them to disappear into the distance.

Once they'd returned to their current headquarters, an abandoned warehouse near the waterfront, they dumped the stolen goods in one of the rooms, having no further use for it.

In the main room of the warehouse they all approached a down-at-heel round table and sat at their seats, which were surprisingly in better condition than the table, congratulated each other of a successful assignment.

"It seems that we have done our work well, friends." Reed replied, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back into his chair, "We have succeeded."

Sue leant forward to rest against her elbow and answered just as conniving as Reed, "Yes! By now the nation will be tracking the Fantastic Four down like dogs!"

"And we couldn't have accomplished such a feat if it weren't for these gauntlets our scientists had created for us to mimic each of the Fantastic Four's powers individually by mere concentration," Johnny acknowledged, pulling up his sleeves to reveal yellow bands which seem to glow every so often.

"Can we drop these disguises now? I think I'm going to be sick if I stay like this any longer," Ben huffed in disgust, Reed nodding in agreement as the foursome's bodies started to change instantaneously.

From their normal, human-looking bodies, they'd shape-shifted back into their original forms; green-skinned reptilian humanoids with large, pointed ears, green eyes and corrugated chins. They were the Skrulls; an extraterrestrial race of shape-shifters that hailed from the Andromeda Galaxy, and they were sent down to Earth by their leader, who resided safely inside the Mother Ship which was hovering undetected outside Earth's atmosphere, on a mission to turn the humans against the superhero team, who'd recently dubbed themselves the **Fantastic Four**. When they're slain, they will be no hope for them when the Skrulls invade Earth…

* * *

**Somewhere miles away at an isolated lodge**

After deciding to go public with revealing themselves as a new team of superheroes, along with their codenames, who will use their powers in the benefit of others, they all soon regretted it as they were quickly made world-famous, gaining countless fans even though they'd only accomplished one mission already. Which _was_ pretty big as it involved saving the world from Mole Man's giant monsters but still.

Now wanting privacy until they can handle the duress of being world-famous superheroes, Reed chose to take them to a isolated hunting lodge where they can relax, enjoy themselves and think more clearly about their current situation.

Reed was standing safely beside the fireplace, a crackling fire burning from within, giving the room a nice warm feeling. Sue was sitting on the couch while Johnny and Ben stood behind her, all of them listening to the radio. A few seconds ago the radio host, someone named Kyle Brenna, was just about to play a song when he received a special news bulletin that was apparently travelling around the country…fast.

"I'm having to stop for a moment to read you this quite _disturbing_ news bulletin," he started, his voice filled with concern, obviously not sure about what he's about to read to his public, "Just an hour ago, Central City's 1st National Bank was robbed by none other than the newly formed superhero team, the Fantastic Four."

All four of the listeners looked up in astonishment, "What? How could that be possible? We were right here the whole time!" Johnny exclaimed but was quietened down by Reed, "Ssh, Johnny. Let's just hear the rest of it before we even begin to discuss what's going on back in Central City."

"In just a matter of minutes, the Fantastic Four had taken hostages, raided the vault of its money and taken out the police who had arrived at the scene. After which they locked the hostages inside the vault and fled the scene, escaping in a van that soon turned invisible. No doubt Invisible Girl had something to do with that." He then took in a deep breath before letting it out.

"Wow, this is an unsettling development, people. And also a confusing one at that. I mean, they had announced to the world that they were a band of superheroes, not super-villains, so why the sudden change? Could there be a reasonable explanation for all this? I dunno, people, but I'm not totally convinced that the superheroes have turned _dark side_. I shall be updating you as the info comes in but for now, let's cheer ourselves up with this recent no.1 hit."

Reed turned to face the others, "Sue, could you switch that off. I need to think about this."

"Sure, love." She pushed herself off the couch and pushed the off button on the radio before returning to her seat, waiting as anxiously as Ben and Johnny on Reed's verdict on this whole situation.

"I don't like to state the obvious but there seems to be a foursome who are impersonating us but how? Why?" He stared back into the blazing fire as though it might give him some new insight. No such luck.

"But that's what's puzzling me, Reed. How can _any _humans impersonate us? No one else has our powers?" Sue asked anxiously, the very thought of it chilling her to the very bone.

Johnny, however being "Johnny", didn't seem to be worried in the slightest, "Aw, don't worry about it, sis. Reed will figure out what to do and then we can take care of them, _Fantastic Four_ style." He answered in his usual over-confident way, not really thinking of how bad this dilemma was for the team.

Ben, who was still wearing his trench-coat even though they were miles away from civilization, especially people, entered the conversation in a gruff, "**Bah! While the three o' yous are beatin' ya gums, meanwhile the whole country's huntin' us down for bein' criminals, or more suitably monsters!**" Realizing what he'd just said, Ben clenched his fists tightly, "**Well, maybe they're right! Maybe I **_**am**_** a monster! I fit the profile perfectly -- and sometimes I feel like one!**"

Clearly angered, Ben used his immense strength to pick up the armchair next to the couch with ease and threw it effortlessly out of the window.

"**That's what I'm gonna do to anyone who gets in my way!**"

Sue got up from the couch, "Reed, stop him! He's going to rip this place apart!"

Reed immediately went into action, stretching out both of his arms until they were tightly wrapped around Ben's huge, rock-skinned body, "Easy there Ben, easy! We can't fight the whole human race!" This manoeuvre had worked once before and was doing so again, gradually calming the man who was also known as The Thing, "We've got to find out what 's behind this plan to discredit us."

Once Ben was relaxed enough Reed let his grip go and reverted his arms back to normal length but his best friend still seemed to be miffed about the whole thing, "**Talk! Talk! Talk! That's all you ever wanna do! Well, I'm not built that way! I want action!**"

"I know you do, Ben, but we can't fly off the handle on this one. We've got to wait until we know who or what's behind all this."

Ben couldn't take much more of it, as he erupted once again, this time smashing the back of his fist against the wall, leaving behind a big hole in the plaster, "**Wait?? That's all right for you, mister! At least all of yous are human! But how would ya like ta be me? Well I won't wait any longer! I'm goin' out…to clobber somethin'…**" Ben left the lodge via the back door but, because of his current mood, he walked straight through it, leaving behind a large hole where the door should be.

Sue jumped to her feet at the sudden collision, worry clearly showing on her face as she stood next to Reed, "What are we going to do, Reed? How much more of this can we take? I hate to say this, love, but sooner or later, Ben's going to run amok and none of us will be able to stop him!" She stated worryingly, placing a hand on her fiancé's shoulder which to him felt comforting, given the argument he just had with Ben.

"I'm going with Sis on this one," Johnny says, joining in the conversation, "We have to **do **something about Ben before it's too late."

Reed let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, shaking his head in disbelief about who they were talking about, "No, we must be patient. After all, it's not him you should be putting the blame on. It's actually **my **fault that he is the way he is."

Sue stood in front of him now, both palms pressed softly against his cheeks, "Please darling, don't start blaming yourself again for what happened to us up there. You had no idea that a freak cosmic storm would appear out of nowhere and hit us. You had no idea that it would give us these uncanny but unique abilities and you had no idea the effect it would have on Ben, turning him into what he is. What I am trying to say, Reed, is that it isn't your fault. None of it."

Reed smiled down at his beautiful blonde fiancée, who had chosen to wear a white blouse, blue jeans and knee-high beige boots which made her look positively divine. He couldn't help but admit that she was right. That it was an impossible turn of events and it _wasn't_ his fault. He lets out a deep sigh, "You're right. You're absolutely right, darling but I can't help but feel the guilt."

Sue smiled at him, kissing him softly before replying, "I know, baby. And I also know that you'll find a cure and turn Ben human again."

Johnny, who at this moment was about to vomit all over the polished wooden floor if he heard anymore of this romantic mush, "O-kay, I think we've had enough of the primetime mush. Let's forget about Ben for the moment and let's focus more on the fact that there's a group out there posing as us, with our powers I may add, and making us into super-criminals. What do we do about them?"

Even as three of the Fantastic Four ponder about their next move, black silent figures, with white utility belts, gloves and boots, stealthily sneak toward the lodge, guns armed to stun by their side -- like a horde of flying wraiths. From their positions they could hear them discussing amongst themselves, "The first thing we must do is learn who is impersonating us and why!" The voice they recognised as Reed spoke before a deep, powerful voice conversed into their ear com-links, "All right men, take them down now! While they're unaware!"

As soon as that command was utter, the agents moved towards the wood lodge faster, progressing as silently as ninjas, when the leader of the group reached the front door. He commanded a few to take the back and, with a militaristic gesture, they all gathered into the lodge with weapons aiming at the superhero trio.

"Freeze! Get down on the ground and put your hands on your head!" The lead agent ordered, seeing that they had indeed surprised their soon-to-be detainees.

Johnny, being himself like always, immediately uttered the words, "Flame on!", his body enveloping into intense flame, his fiery aura literally blinding them as he intensified it.

"Sue," Reed turned to face his love, hands holding her by her upper arms, "Turn invisible," he whispered, "Get Ben! We'll hold them off!"

Knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to change her boys' mind, Sue nodded in understanding, turning invisible at once and heading for the back door where there was only a few of them crowding it.

_Good job myself and Johnny's been learning how to defend ourselves_, Sue thought to herself as she slid across the floor and kicked out a leg, successfully tripping over an agent who tumbled right onto his front, hitting his face hard, miraculously knocking him unconscious, _Taken down by a girl! Ha!_

As she reached the door Sue heard another shout, "Shift into thermal vision, she's turned herself invisible!"

_Oh sure! Spoil a girl's fun, why doncha!_ She exclaimed in her mind, deciding to make a run into the woods, hoping to find Ben quickly. They needed his super-strength…

Back inside the lodge Human Torch was using his power of flight to evade the agent's stun bullets while Mr. Fantastic stretched in all matter of directions to dodge them. To the agents, this was getting tedious. Their stun bullets weren't hitting home, and they needed to wrap this up before Benjamin Grimm, also known to them as the Thing, entered the fray. And that would mean trouble, for them.

Signalling with another hand gesture, so as not to alert the two "heroes", the lead agent had ordered two of his men to holster their weapons and arm themselves with another; a newly created gun that discharged specialized foam that successfully extinguished any type of flame, even the Human Torch's.

Aiming it at the flying "fireball", the two agents fired and shot a glob of white foam directly into the path of the Human Torch, who simply had no idea before flying right into it. The foam instantly quenched Johnny's flame and, thus, caused him to land hard on the floor, tumbling a few times before stopping on his front.

"Johnny!" Reed called out, stretching his arms to cup the teen into them but the sudden storm of agents made it impossible as there was literally no room to move about in.

As soon as they took down Johnny, another agent, ordered by the lead agent with another hand gesture, reached into her utility belt and took out a pellet the size of a golf-ball, if that. In a matter of milliseconds, she threw it toward Mr. Fantastic and when the pellet got close enough to his vicinity, it burst, releasing a secured net from within. Once it had entangled him, he found out very quickly that he was unable to stretch himself out without receiving a short burst of electricity.

Once the two were detained in the traps that were specifically designed just for them, the lead agent, known to the others as Agent Jimmy Woo, stood in front of the captive heroes, hands firmly on his hips. When Reed and Johnny took a good look at him, they could see that he wasn't dressed like the others.

He was clearly Asian, stood around 6 foot tall and was athletically built (_weren't guys like him always?_). He wore a tight, grey polo-neck shirt, a black leather jacket along with black trousers and black dress shoes. On his hip he wore a beige gun holster with a standard Glock 19 holstered inside. However, when he spoke, his accent sounded more American than his Asian descent.

"You both held up a good fight but not good enough to evade S.H.I.E.L.D's high-tech weaponry. Take them out to the truck," he ordered one of the agents, pointing in the direction of the front door before pointing at the back, "And get me Sue and Ben! I don't want them busting these pair out or our director will have _all _our heads!"

* * *

Meanwhile, outside and still invisible, Sue was running in the direction of the nearby lake, hoping to God that Ben had gone down there to calm himself down, and still being chased by S.H.I.E.L.D agents now garbing goggles set on thermal vision.

She felt like she'd been running for hours since Reed told her to run and find Ben. She was now rushing past trees, pushing her way through branches, on her way down to the lake, which was only a few minutes away. Behind her the agents were calling out to one another, saying that they'd a lock on her but she'd dart out of the way, inevitably missing their shot.

Once she'd reached the lake, she could see Ben standing on the shore, looking at the horizon as though he was in his own little world.

"Ben! Ben, come quick!" Sue called out, reappearing and running to his side, Ben's large hands holding her by her shoulders to steady her.

"**Suzie, what's all the hubbub?**"

"We're being ambushed by agents from an organization they call "S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm afraid that they've already got Reed and Johnny and now they're after us! What are we going to do?" She asked, completely out of breath as Ben manoeuvred her behind him.

"**I'll tell ya what I'm gonna do! I'm gonna clobber all of 'em! Stay behind me, Suzie. Don't want Stretch-o blaming me if ya got hurt.**" Ben informed, taking off his hat and trench-coat to reveal his huge, orange, rock-skinned muscular body that had earned him the name "The Thing".

He saw the first wave of agents leaving the woods, intertwining his fingers and cracking them, "**Alright! It's Clobberin' Time!**" He war-cried, using his nigh-invulnerable body to protect Sue from the agent's sleeping darts and stun bullets.

When they got near enough Thing charged forward, emitting a mighty roar as he raised both his fists and slammed them against the ground, releasing a shockwave that sent them flying onto their fronts and backs, knocking the wind out of them.

"**Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!**" Thing cheered, waiting for the next wave to _try _and take him down while Sue watched from the sidelines, amazed at how strong Thing was getting since Monster Isle.

Her sharp eyes caught two agents approaching Thing by the side, her dear friend too busy "clobbering" the other agents to notice them. So, turning invisible again, Sue thought it was time that contributed to the fight as she dashed toward the unsuspecting agents. Using the hand-to-hand combat skills she was currently learning from Central City's top dojo, Invisible Girl swiped an arm vertically through the air, hitting one of the agents against his neck, causing him to fall to his knees, hands around his neck and trying to coughing at the sudden impact to his trachea.

While he was coughing and spluttering she went straight to attacking the other agent, kicking her squarely in the stomach with the flat of her foot before punching her hard in the face, knocking her out. Her attention back to the coughing agent Invisible Girl took care of him by roundhouse kicking him in the face, the agent falling on his front and lying next to the unconscious female agent.

"We can't keep this up, Ben! We've got to retreat and hide! Think of a plan to get Reed and Johnny back -- Ugh!" Invisible Girl began to tell Thing before she was taken out by a stun bullet herself, fired by a sniper who'd been waiting amongst the trees, taking off his goggles as he uttered, "Invisible Girl's been taken out. Just The Thing left."

"_Good. As soon as the Thing's taken out, bring them to the truck. The sooner we get back to headquarters, the better for our sakes. Agent Woo out_," the top agent uttered through the ear com-link.

As soon as Invisible Girl was hit she collapsed onto her back, reappearing once again, her head lolled to the side, hand resting beside it while the other landed on her stomach. The Thing spun around to the sound of Sue's voice when he watched with wide eyes as she slumped to the ground, taken out by one of their stun bullets.

"**Suzie?**" The instant her body hit the ground, the Thing seemed to go into "berserker mode", letting out an almighty roar before charging to the crowd of agents, intending to knock them down like bowling pins.

Jimmy Woo, who'd been listening to what had being going on via his ear com-link, suddenly commanded to them all, "_Take Thing down now! Use your knockout gas for Christ's sake!_"

On that order, all the agents took out a gas pellet each from one of the pouches on their utility belts and threw it instantly at the charging Thing, exploding once they contacted with his skin. At first it didn't seem like it affected him but after a few seconds for the vapours to envelop around his large body, the Thing quickly slowed down to a stop. His body may be invulnerable but he still needed to breathe and thus, couldn't help but inhale the vapours that hovered around him.

A few moments later Ben stumbled a bit and when the gas affected him enough, he fell onto his front, causing a slight tremor in the vicinity around himself.

As the agents helped their fallen comrades to their feet the sniper, appeared from out of the trees, sniper rifle by her side. She was a definite blonde, her hair falling past her shoulders, with bright blue eyes, wearing a body-hugging suit reminiscent to the other agents' but was the opposite colours to theirs; white with black boots and utility belt, she didn't wear gloves, and zipped up from the front. Strapped around her right thigh, she wore a holster that housed the standard Glock 19 her partner, Jimmy Woo, also wielded.

She was Sharon Carter, known to all members of S.H.I.E.L.D as 'Agent 13', who was, like all members, trained in the ways of espionage, weapons and firearms. Top of her class alongside Agent Woo, to be exact.

As Sharon let the sniper rifle drop by her side, a Dragunov that was specifically made to fire all kinds of bullets, including stun ones, she stood next to Sue Storm and Ben Grimm, overlooking their unconscious bodies with a smirk on her face, knowing that their mission was a complete success.

Sharon pressed a finger into her ear, triggering her com-link, "Agent Woo, this is Agent 13. We now have both Sue Storm and Ben Grimm detained. Returning to the truck for transportation," she replied, watching the other agents as they loaded Sue and Ben onto S.H.I.E.L.D-issued floating stretchers which carried them effortlessly into the trees in the direction of the truck, followed by the rest of the agents as well as the blonde agent.

"_Good, very good. We've just loaded in Reed Richards and Johnny Storm into the truck. Hurry back here so we can get them into confinement back at HQ and I can have a shower. I'm sweating from all that heat Storm gave off while we were trying to pursue him_."

Sharon crossed her arms and huffed in mock abhorrence, "Nice to know, Woo. I'm on my way back to the truck, see you in 5."

Taking her finger away from the com-link, terminating her connection with Agent Woo, Sharon turned on the point, following the other agents into the woods, silently agreeing with Woo in taking a shower back at HQ. In the women's locker room, of course…

* * *

**Secret S.H.I.E.L.D location**

When the Fantastic Four finally awoke, seeming to them like years had passed by, they all found themselves in separate, see-through containers just big enough to move around in. Looking around they could also see that they were in a large room, metal decorate the walls, there were no windows and only one set of double doors at the far side of the room.

"Sue, darling? Sue, are you alright?" Reed asked worryingly as he clambered to his feet with the help of the see-through container.

To his right he could see his fiancée lying on her front, steadily pushing herself onto her knees, hand on her head to hopefully soothe the slight headache she was experiencing.

"I'm all alright, Reed. Just a slight headache, nothing serious I don't think," she uttered, eventually standing to her feet, her hands pressed against the glass as she glanced toward her younger brother, "Johnny, are you alright?"

Johnny was already standing and admiring the situation they were in, "I'm just peachy, sis but I was just wondering…where the heck are we?" He asked as everyone looked at each other, the same question written on their faces.

"**I'm fine, by the way, if anyone wants ta know**," Ben replied, though he was too busy trying to find a way out of the container to care about their concerns for him at this point. Placing both palms on either side of the slightly bigger container, Ben used his superhuman strength to try and force his way out but found out pretty quickly that every time he did, it would cause it to gradually shrink.

"**What the --? I can't break outta this thing!**"

"Leave it to me to save your tubby butt!" Johnny smiled, loving the fact that Ben was going to owe him for saving his life, "Okay, FLAME ON!" He cried, but as soon as he burst into searing flame, sprinklers appeared from above and doused him in cold water.

Reed and Sue watched the scene unfold and both soon realized what was going on, "It seems that whoever's detained us have done so with devices that disable our powers," Reed explained as he tried it out for himself, finding out that the container that he was in also stretched, making it impossible for him to escape.

Seeing as Sue could only turn invisible, hers didn't have any devices but was still sturdy enough to withstand her focused punches and kicks she'd learned from her weekly martial-arts training.

"You are absolutely correct, Mr. Richards," a voice occurred on the intercom, "And there's no way out of them unless I press the button that releases you, that is. But my superior would like to question all of you and then, and only then, will he decide to release you or not." The voice was gone again, leaving the quartet in an eerie silence.

As soon as Reed got the feeling that the person must've left to fetch their superior, he immediately started to look around his container for any signs of weakness or possible means of escape. Gaining the ability to stretch, deform and reform his body into almost any shape did have its quirks.

"Reed?" Sue asked with concern, "What are you doing?"

"Finding my escape," Reed answered simply, as though it was obvious to her what he was doing before he exclaimed a quick, "Ah hah!", looking at a particular spot at the bottom of his container.

As the other three members of Fantastic Four watch in anticipation as Reed sunk down on all fours, instantly morphing his thumb and forefinger into a pair of teeth reminiscent to a pliers' and got to work in unscrewing one of the bolts that held one of the corners of the container together.

Pulling it out from where it was fixed, Reed could see that it left a small hole in its place; a hole that fortunately was big enough for him to fit through, even though it was probably ½ an inch in diameter. Using his powers of elasticity, Reed reached out and once his middle finger touched the hole, he proceeded in pushing it through, finding that it gave him no moment of discomfort. Once he'd had his entire upper body through the hole, he found the other three staring in amazement at his tremendous feat before he finally managed to pull his legs through. Standing back upright and in his normal, firm form Reed smiled at his friends, before telling Sue and Johnny to look away and step as far away from his side of the glass as possible.

Once they'd done what they'd been told, Reed inflated his fists until they were the size of cannonballs before proceeding to smash the containers that held his fiancée and her little brother captive. Sue immediately leapt into Reed's arms whilst Johnny used his powers to melt down Ben's container with intense flame, the hulking detainee glad to be out of there in fear that he might get claustrophobic because of it.

"We can't stay long, my darling. We've gotta escape so we can figure out what to do next," Reed replied, still holding onto Sue as he turned his head to face Ben, "Ben, could you do us the honours of making an door out of this place?"

Ben shoved him gently aside, making his way to one of the walls, before uttering, "**Ya don't even haveta ask, Reed. I've got it all covered**." He then drew his enlarged fist back before thrusting it forward with all his might, causing the metal wall to dent. He hit the section of wall a couple more times before it eventually gave way and flew across the corridor it led into.

Suddenly, an alarm screeched and the place was alight with flashing red lights, indicating to its inhabitants that their prisoners have escaped. Now pressured for time, Ben charged onward, using his strength and growing momentum to plough through the metal walls while Johnny "flames on" and soars into the air, covering them from the back with his flames so they were not followed.

They could hear shouting from the agents pursuing them and when Ben crashed through the last metal wall and into the open air, they found themselves on the outskirts of Central City, the building they were just in looked like it was an abandoned warehouse or if that was what it was supposed to appear like.

"Quick! Let's hijack that helicopter and make do our escape!" Reed articulated, pointing to the flying vehicle that sat alone amongst the burning and the mayhem.

"I'll hold them off until you're airborne!" Johnny offered, flying into the air, not allowing his sis to talk him out of it.

"Come on, darling, Johnny knows what he's doing. He'll be alright, trust me." Reed comforted Sue as he grabbed her wrist and gradually pulled her toward the helicopter, Sue looking back to see Johnny dodging the gunfire and using his powers to ward them off.

Once they were in the air, thanks to Ben's knowledge of flying a variety of aircraft, Johnny followed them until he caught up with them, climbing into the back with Sue immediately hugging him, barely hearing her shout, "Don't you dare scare me like that again!", in which he only replied with a "Okay sis, never again."

* * *

Exhausted after all the excitement of escaping that place, the Fantastic Four had made refuge in the Warehouse District in Central City, fortunately finding a building that hadn't been used in a while.

"Well it's fairly obvious to say that we first need to set a trap for our impersonators." Reed informed, noticing Johnny raising a hand in sheer confidence, "And **I'm** the best one to do that, Reed!"

This immediately grabbed Ben's attention, who huffed and grumbled deeply, "**You?**"

He then pointed toward the blond teenager and continued grumbling, "**I don't believe in sendin' a **_**kid**_** ta do a **_**man's**_** job! If anyone's gonna be setting traps, it's gonna be me!**"

"Aw, would ya pipe down blockhead and let us think!" Johnny retorted, both of them glaring at each other as though they were about to fight when Reed interrupted them with his booming voice, "Knock it off, you two! I've got an idea! If I can just fix this TV, we might be able to find something to use in capturing our "criminal selves"." He was busy trying to fix the only television that was in the room and, with a few disconnecting here and a few connecting there, the television blared on, luckily on the channel that was about to broadcast the evening news…

"…_in other news, since the robbery of Central City's 1__st__ National Bank, the Fantastic Four haven't resurfaced, suggesting that they are in hiding. Police departments from around the city are keen to find and capture the "so-called" heroes and bring them to justice. They are also considered armed and extremely dangerous._"

"Well, that's a bunch of %^$!" Johnny huffed, his hand gesturing at the television.

"Johnny!" Sue exclaimed at his use of foul language, sounding more like their mother than his sister.

"What? It's true, isn't it sis? Those guys who masqueraded as _us_ are the real bad guys. We're just getting the bad rep treatment because of what _they_ did!"

Reed silenced him with a quick shush and a hand gesture, all of them back to focusing on the news which was about to announce something revolutionary, "…_So our top story this evening; Anthony Stark, industrialist, genius engineer and CEO of Stark Industries, is testing a new missile he'd recently designed that, he quotes, "Will _"modernize" _the industry as we know it". He shall be testing this new missile in the safe confines of his factory outside of New York City tomorrow morning. I'm Patricia Tilby and this is NCBC Evening News…_". Reed then switched it off by its "power" button before facing the other three.

"Is everyone thinking what I'm thinking?" Reed asked the small crowd, everyone replying with a quick nod of their heads.

"Our four "imitators" may get confused if _one _of us tries to sabotage Tony Stark's testing of his new missile. They may think it's one of _them_ and might even reveal themselves! Is that right, Reed?" Johnny asked elatedly, wondering if he was right and couldn't wait to get into action.

"That is correct Johnny, but --," yet Reed didn't have time to explain the full nature of his plan as he heard Johnny cry, "FLAME ON!" and erupt into a burst of flames, his fiery aura lighting up the entire room, "I'm on my way, boss!"

Ben lifted his large hand and pointed at the fiery teenager, "**Who said **_**you**_** were the one ta tackle this job?!**" He huffed huskily as Johnny started to shine brighter, "I said so! Any objections?"

Even though Ben was resilient against Johnny's flames, his eyes wasn't resilient to the sudden flash of light as he covered them with his powerfully built arms, "**Ughh**!"

Reed stood in between the two, successfully breaking up the skirmish that would've evidentially erupted if he hadn't, "Flame off, Johnny! And back away, Ben! This is no time with fighting amongst ourselves!"

"**If he ever loses that flame of his, I'll --**," Ben grumbled, about to say something that he'd probably wouldn't have regretted when Sue stood beside him, a comforting hand on his shoulder as her soft voice seemed to calm him down somewhat, "Ben please, I understand how bitter you are -- and I know that you have every right to be. But we'll eventually destroy ourselves if we keep going at each other's throats. Don't you see?" She asked, placing the hand on his shoulder upon his cheek, feeling the rough rocked skin that should've been soft to the touch.

"**I see**," he started, letting out a deep sigh at the fact that she was right, "**But sometimes…I think I'd be better off…the **_**world**_** would be better off…if I **_**were **_**destroyed!**"

As this was said Johnny immediately powered down, standing next to Sue, a concerned look on his face, "Aw, don't say that big guy. The world _needs _you as much as we do. We wouldn't be the Fantastic Four if it weren't for you, the incredibly strong Thing!" Johnny then patted Ben on the back, a small smile returning to Ben's face as he replied, "**Okay but no more mushy stuff, ya hear kid? I don't think ma stomach can handle any more of it.**"

Reed waved his hands in the air, "Alright, now that you two have made up, it's time to get some rest. There's much to do tomorrow and we can't make any mistakes. Not with our whole reputation riding on what we'll accomplish."

* * *

**The next morning, Stark Industries, New York**

Outside it was another beautiful day, foretold by the weatherman this morning, as Tony Stark and those who were witnessing the missile testing walked leisurely to a metal bunker, which would protect them from any ill effects if they was any "malfunctions" with the missile. As they stepped inside the bunker, they all stood behind a long, rectangular hole that revealed the test site before them. The hole filled with bullet-proof glass which Tony had manufactured to also protect them from other effects; fire, radiation, etc.

"So today, as I'd announced yesterday at the press conference, I am here to present to you the test launch of the new missile which I've recently formulated and had manufactured here in the New York branch of my company, Stark Industries. This missile, which I haven't given a name to yet, is created so when it detonates in a particular vicinity, it releases a wave of concussive energy designed to knockout the enemy without causing any physical damage. Thus, meaning more survivors and lesser deaths."

The man who stood in front of the small crowd, obviously a general or someone around that status, wearing a green, crinkle-less uniform, smart black shoes and several medals on display pinned to his chest on the man's left, pointed to the window and asked as casually as he could, "What's that flash in the sky? Is that the missile you're showing us?"

One of Tony's eyebrows quirked, anxious to see what he was talking about, as he turned to face the window, seeing the flying "flash" in question, "I don't know what _that _is but it certainly isn't my missile."

As the flying "flash" drew closer, the occupants of the metal bunker quickly established it as the "Human Torch", member of the Fantastic Four who, at the moment, were super-criminals, wanted by the police for the bank robbery they'd pulled only yesterday.

"It's the Human Torch! Probably here to steal your missile!" The man in the green uniform cried out, as the Human Torch (the _real_ Human Torch, not the Skrull imitator) let loose a stream of fire from his hands and set everything in the vicinity ablaze. The metal bunker, the grass, the target, everything he could torch that wouldn't cause too much damage before he flew off again.

Suddenly, the security system that Tony had installed for the facility appeared online, several gun turrets aimed at the flying "fireball" and releasing a barrage of stun bullets, intent on taking Human Torch down. Thanks to the training program Reed had them on every so often, he'd managed to improve his aerial dexterity, effectively dodging the gun turrets' barrage. Once he was far enough away, Human Torch descended back to the ground and powered down, instantly turning to face the sound of constant beeping from a nearby car, "Quick Torch! Into the car!" The Skrull disguised as Sue called out, Johnny following her order and running over to it, clambering into the back once he'd opened the car door.

"What were you thinking, Krn'ak? We're not supposed to be soloing unless we have orders from the Mother ship!" The Skrull impersonating Reed replied anxiously, more worried about the consequences of Johnny's action than the fact that they hadn't realized he wasn't the Skrull impersonating him.

"I am sorry," Johnny immediately answered, praying that he wasn't going to be found out, "It will never happen again."

The Skrull/Reed let out a sigh, "Good. Now let's get back to HQ. We may have word from the Mother ship about our next course of action!"

Johnny mentally heaved a sigh of relief as Skrull/Reed sped off down the main road on their way to the secret base of the "Skrulls".

* * *

**Secret H.Q. of the Skrulls**

Minutes later, as they arrived at their secret H.Q; which happened to be another abandoned warehouse on the docks beside the Hudson River. Talk about originality! As soon as the Skrulls Reed and Sue entered the hideout, they immediately shape-shifted back into their original, green, reptilian humanoid forms, surprising Johnny but fortunately he didn't make a fool of himself. Yet when they met up with the leader of the alien group, he instantly knew that Johnny was the real deal.

"You imbeciles! Why did you bring him! He's the _**real**_ Johnny Storm!" The Skrull's voice was filled with anger and annoyance at his fellow comrades. The two Skrulls looked at each other, flabbergasted that they'd been duped by a human of all things.

"Now that you've seen for what we truly are, we cannot permit you to leave here alive!" The lead Skrull announced, aiming his alien weapon at Johnny, who was backing his way toward the wall behind him.

"Dude, no matter what planet you hail from, I'm just too hot for you to handle! FLAME ON!" Johnny cried out, transforming into the heroic Human Torch and ascending into the air.

"DESTROY HIM!" The leader shouted, all four aliens aiming their guns at him and commencing fire; green energy discharging from the barrels. Just like before when he set fire to the test site at Stark Industries, New York, Human Torch dodged the energy fire with ease before emitting his own flame and encasing them in a ring of fire, successfully trapping them.

"Now you four can sit tight and wait for my team-mates to arrive!" Human Torch announced, still aloft in the air as he stand guard until the other arrived.

Suddenly, without warning, the Skrull that impersonated him raised his four-fingered hands and started to absorb the fire right into his hands, "Not when I have powers that match yours!"

"Ooh, this is _so _bad!" Human Torch winced, as the Skrull erupted into a burst of flame and ascended into the air, quickly raising his hands again to absorb all of his flame so he wouldn't be able to use them.

Just in the nick of time, one of the walls in the room started to crack, accompanied by the sound of loud thumping and, before long, the section of the wall was sent hurtling across the room, knocking into the other three that were still grounded.

"**Knock, knock!**" Ben announced, climbing through the hole he'd just created, followed by Reed and Sue, however they were still garbed in their civilian clothes as their Fantastic Four costumes were back at the apartment.

"It's the Thing, Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl! How did you find us?" One of the Skrulls screeched as they all clambered to their feet from Thing's recent attack.

"With this," Reed proclaimed, taking out what the Skrulls assumed was a tracking device, a bug obviously had been placed on Johnny's person which palpably lead them to their secret hideout.

"Well? Don't just stand there you dolts! Attack them!" The leader ordered, watching as the other three dived into the offensive, the two who hadn't shape-shifted did into their assigned disguises, Invisible Girl and the Thing, while the leader shifted into Mr. Fantastic.

And so began the battle of the Fantastic Four vs. the Skrulls!

Using his powers of elasticity, Mr. Fantastic stretched out his arms until they were fully wrapped around the Skrull impersonating Ben. He may look and wield superhuman strength like Ben but he certainly didn't weigh as much as him as the young super-genius found it easy to whip him into the air and send him crashing through the wall opposite them. The Thing went straight for the leader, who was mimicking Reed's power of elasticity to do exactly the same as Mr. Fantastic had just done to his fellow Skrull. Nevertheless, the Thing weighed more than they did and inevitably used his super-strength against him, sending him hurtling into Skrull/Thing who was just climbing through the hole.

Interestingly enough, Skrull/Invisible Girl didn't utilized her powers of invisibility. Instead she charged at the _real_ Invisible Girl who immediately blocked when she tried to go for a roundhouse kick. Sue, using this slight moment of opportunity, quickly spins to the ground, extending her leg and sweeping Skrull/Invisible Girl from off her feet. The alien landed with a hard thud, knocking the wind out of her as she clasped her chest, her back suddenly throbbing from the pain.

Skrull/Human Torch was quickly sapping Johnny of his fire faster than he was trying to sap the alien's until Reed helped him out by ripping the fire blanket from off the wall and stretching his arms out to wrap it around the fiery alien.

With all the Skrulls quickly dispatched, Reed picked up one of their weapons and aimed it at the foursome, ready to pull the trigger and see what it could accomplish if they tried any funny business, "All right playmates, that certainly wraps this up! One false move from any of you and it'll be your last!" Reed threatened before asking the following questions, "Now give us the whole story, fast! Where are you from? What is your mission? **Talk**!" He then blasted a hole in the ceiling with the gun he was holding.

"**Let me at 'em! I'll make 'em talk! Just watch me!**" Thing bellowed, using his superhuman strength to lift up section of the wall, intent on crushing it upon their alien captives.

Johnny, still in the air, flew down in front of Ben and instantly powered down, his hands out in front of him as he tried to push him back, obviously not strong enough to do so, "Reed! Help me would ya!" He cried, Reed passing the gun to Sue and elongating his arms so they could wrap around the angered Ben.

"Easy there Ben -- easy! You don't know the limits of your strength! You could kill them! Let _us _handle them!" Reed struggled against Ben's amazing strength, who wasn't calming down.

"**But they turned us into outcasts, Stretch! They turned all Earth against us! They should pay for that!**" Ben screamed at the aliens, Reed turning his head around 180° to face them, "You hear that? This is your last chance! Talk or I'll turn the **Thing** loose on you!"

The aliens then started to cower, knowing the amounts of strength the Thing possessed and what would become of them if he ever got his enlarged hands on them.

"Please! Please, we beg of you! Don't set him on us! We'll tell you everything, just don't let him loose!" The leader whimpered, near enough in tears, "We Skrulls have an invasion fleet waiting above Earth's atmosphere -- but before we attack the planet, the four of us were "chosen", as it were, to be tested on a new experiment devised by some of our genius scientists. An experiment that would enable us to speak in your Earth language. As we already have the natural ability to stretch our limbs as well as shape-shift, the experiment also gave these three," the leader gestured with a nod to the others behind him, "powers significant to the Thing, Invisible Girl and the Human Torch. And as you can see, the experiment was a complete success."

While the lead Skrull had been explaining about how they acquired their powers and their mission, Reed was listening assiduously, awed by the pure fact that there _were _other life-forms that occupied the universe, not just human beings. And they also acquired natural abilities to help them survive what endeavours stood in their way.

"…After that, our leaders sent us down to Earth in order to take you, the Fantastic Four, out of the picture so you weren't hinder our invasion of your planet."

As soon as the lead Skrull had finished, he was spared while the others were knocked unconscious by Ben. With Ben keeping guard, Reed gathered Sue and Johnny around him, discussing their latest predicament, "Okay -- it seems we're at a stalemate. We've captured the four of them," he pointed to the Skrulls, "But there is still a mighty invasion fleet menacing Earth!" He then stroked his chin with his thumb and forefinger, thinking about their next plan of action.

"Well, we must either somehow destroy that ship or get them to retreat or Earth will never be safe!" Sue entered the conversation, still aiming the gun at the Skrull but changing hands this time.

Johnny looked to both his sister and Reed with a puzzled expression drawn on his face, "But how can the four of us stop an impending invasion?"

From out of the blue, Reed snapped his fingers, "I've got an idea! Since they masqueraded as us, _we_ must now pose as them!" And with that, he walked over to the lead Skrull and asked him as politely as he could, "Where are you keeping your spaceship hidden?"

* * *

**Minutes later, inside the Skrull's spaceship**

With the four of them inside the spaceship at the back of the abandoned warehouse, effectively cloaked in stealth camouflage, Thing stayed behind to keep an eye on the four aliens while Reed, Sue and Johnny went about executing Reed's plan to, hopefully, send the Skrulls away.

The device he'd used to track Johnny down to the Skrulls' hideout wasn't just a tracking device…it was also Reed's technological version of a Swiss Army knife. As well as track a person down via their heat signature, heart-beat rating or a tracking bug, it could also wirelessly link to the internet without the need to hunt for Wi-Fi hotspots; download images, videos, etc.; scan the vicinity for any signs of life, among other things Reed's genius-intellect has thought up. And it was also the main feature to Reed's plan…

As Reed gazed upon the spaceship's console system, he figured out what button could be for communicating with the mother ship but, being an alien ship, he was just guessing here.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Reed murmured, the others crossing their fingers and hoping that this plan was going to work. As soon as he'd flicked the switch, the speakers released a scratchy noise before the monitor in front of them came to life; revealing another Skrull but he looked to have a wave of authority about him. He also wore a head-dress that probably meant he was one of the leaders that the other Skrulls spoke of.

"So? Is your mission accomplished? Are the Fantastic Four dead or imprisoned? Shall I signal the invasion?" The Skrull asked, his throat huskier than the others, Reed thanking God that they hadn't been discovered and were using their knowledge of human language to communicate.

Reed shook his head, a hopeless look on his face, "There can be no invasion! The Fantastic Four cannot be beaten! We have also found out that Earth's defences can certainly defeat us!" Reed mentally smiles at himself, thinking that he should've been an actor by the way he's successfully pulled wool of the leader's red eyes.

"No! No, this cannot be! I must have proof! You hear? What proof do you have?"

Reed reached into his pocket and took out the device he'd used as a tracking device, raising it for the Skrull leader to see from the monitor, "This is all the proof you need. Whilst we were retreating from our latest skirmish with the all-powerful Fantastic Four, I managed to swipe this and its contents are all too disturbing!"

From out of the console, a glass shutter opened up and a flat surface poked out from behind it, "Put it inside the data analyser quickly. We shall probe its contents and see the evidence for ourselves.

Carefully putting the device on the flat surface, Reed stepped back as it returned to its original position, the glass shutter closing, as bright lights suddenly danced around the device. Fortunately, before the trio entered the spaceship, Reed took the time to download all matter of images and video-clips from famous sci-fi movies and TV series which contain all kinds of creatures; monsters, aliens, experiments. Hopefully it would dupe the aliens into believing what Reed was about to tell them.

An image appeared on the screen and Reed knew that it was a picture taken from a scene of 1998 blockbuster _Godzilla_, explaining to the leader that it was a creature that dominated New York City, which now lay in ruin because of its wrath. Moving onto the next image, it was a scene from the 1988 remake of _The Blob_, and Reed explained that the amorphous, red _blob_ was a biological warfare experiment created by the Earth's government to devour anyone who chose this particular planet to invade. The next was a video-clip and it was a collaboration of monsters from various movies, Reed elucidating the fact that they were Earth's most powerful warriors. (You can use your own imagination to determine what monsters Reed had used).

"This is just incredible! Unbelievable! We must abort the invasion and return to our galaxy before we're spotted. If you hadn't warned me in time, I would've certainly be sending the troops to be slain! Quickly! You must unmask and join us as we leave this accursed planet forever!" The Skrull leader ordered, preparing to beam them to the ship when Reed hastily interrupted.

"No! Unfortunately myself and my crew must stay behind and remove all trace of our presence on Earth! We shall willingly sacrifice so that you will be safe!"

The Skrull leader looked full of pride, as though Reed had struck a cord in its heart, if it did have one mind you, "Never in our history has there been so noble a deed. When I've returned to our home planet, I shall make sure that the four of you are deeply honoured for your sacrifice."

Moments later, the mighty star-ship zoomed into hyper-space, leaving the Earth's atmosphere supposedly for good but Reed experienced a cold chill up his spine as he thought that this might not be the last they saw of them. For now, they'd averted an alien invasion and it was time to clear their names and go back to being the superhero "family" that they'd come to be known as before all of this "alien" business appeared.

Just as they were leaving the space-ship, the large room was flooded with a blinding white light, several actually, all pinned on Reed, Sue and Johnny. They all sheltered their eyes from the intense glare with their arms, trying to peer around to distinguish who put them on.

"Keep the lights on them, men!" A voice ordered the men, Reed and Johnny remembering who it belonged to straight away. The lead agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who'd apprehended them, back at Reed's secluded cabin.

Reed, like Sue and Johnny, kept his hands in the air as he called out to the light, "Please! If you'd just let me speak the truth about --," but he was interjected by the sound of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's voice, "You don't mind if I tell you ta save it, _Doctor _Richards. You and your band of superheroes-turned-criminals have given me, my partner and my boss enough trouble as it is. You are all now under arrest under SH.I.E.L.D's jurisdiction."

Auspiciously, there was a loud crash in the other room and before Agent Woo and his agents could investigate, The Thing came smashing through the wall and across the floor, his superhuman invulnerability keeping him from any physical harm but causing the ground to part like the Red Sea.

"**Whoa! Didn't see that coming!**" Thing clambered to his feet, shaking his head to rid him of the slight dizziness from the skirmish as one of the Skrulls, now transformed into a metal-spiked behemoth with giant maces for hands, revealed himself and immediately turned to the offensive. Slamming his mace fists against the ground and causing the very earth to shake.

The attack was focused on Agent Woo and his agents as they stumbled off balance, landing on their rumps, fronts and backs while Johnny cried out and flew into the air, now enveloped in his trademark fiery aura.

Two of the Skrulls had followed suit, shape-shifting into a duo of giant, monstrous creatures that seemed to resemble some of Earth's own creatures. Most notably a snake and a lion.

"What the hell are they?" Agent Woo cried out, helping himself up while his other agents were busy dodging and firing at the monstrous creatures all assaulting them with different attacks.

The one resembling a snake, which was thrice the size of any average snake, was intent in squeezing the life out of Ben, who was using his immense strength to wrestle the _supposed_ reptile into submission. And the one that resembled a lion was using its extra long, sharp claws to tear its way out, slashing a few agents across their chests and their backs.

The last of the quartet of Skrulls had stayed in her original form and was now charging at Sue, intent on getting Round 2 started and, hopefully, getting payback for defeating her earlier.

"Fantastic Four! Help the agents by any means necessary!" commanded Mr. Fantastic, who immediately stretched out his arms to grab the lion before it could cause any more damage with its claws. Then, employing all his strength, he threw the alien shape-shifter across the room, hearing a certain loud thud as its back connected with the wall. The sudden attack caused the Skrull to revert back to his original form, causing several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to gasp in both shock and amazement at this discovery.

Meanwhile Invisible Girl was using every ounce of strength and speed to dodge and strike the one who'd chosen to impersonate her and her abilities. As she spun on the balls of her feet to execute a spinning right chop to the Skrull's face, it successfully blocked the attempt and executed a basic judo throw, flipping Sue onto her back. This time it was Sue who was left winded by the surprised attack. The Sue/Skrull kicked her leg up into the air, held it with one hand before letting it go again, intending it to strike Sue's face but just before it could connect, Sue turned invisible straight away and rolled to the side. The Skrull's foot connected with the cold floor instead.

Immediately afterward Sue kicked out her leg and spun in a crouched position, executing another perfect leg sweep and taking out the Skrull's legs from under her before reappearing.

The Skrull fell hard onto her back but immediately flipped into a backward roll, a smirk on her reptilian face, "Don't think you can take me down with the same trick twice, Susan Storm!" She then transformed her fists into giant maces, complete with spikes, and swung them at the Invisible Girl who, just in the nick of time, managed to duck out of the way. This was about to get interesting.

In the meantime, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were firing at the metal-spiked behemoth with their standard firearms, the bullets, however, weren't even penetrating its skin. Suddenly a bright, intense light shone in the vicinity and the agents couldn't help but cover their eyes. The Human Torch was hovering overhead, gesturing his arms toward the creature and projecting a stream of intense flame. Despite its height and strength, it cowered under its intensity, immediately reverting back to its original Skrull form.

"Please! I surrender! Please, no more! I beg you!"

The Human Torch smirked, "Huh…well that was incredibly anti-climatic." He huffed, descended to the ground and powered down, helping the agents to apprehend the Skrull.

After what felt like forever in taking her down, Invisible Girl managed to get the upper hand on her impersonator, kicking her twice in the stomach and flipping her over onto her back. Still gripping the other's hand, Invisible Girl twisted so that it didn't break but it caused the Skrull to wince, "I admit defeat! Please, I surrender to you, Susan Storm!"

Sue let go, stepping back to allow the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to detain the Skrull before putting her with the others. To her right, Sue can see that the Thing was still struggling with the snake, its seemingly powerful grip still trying to squeeze the life out of him. Yet, everyone who knew Benjamin J. Grimm also knew that he was no quitter! So, using his immense strength, the Thing thought that he could play the alien at his own game, wrapping his fists around the snake's neck and tightened his grip, mimicking what the Skrull had been doing for the past 5 minutes. Soon the green-skinned alien loosened its grip on him before eventually slumping to the ground, returning to its original form.

The next few minutes were quiet, the Fantastic Four and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents taking this time to recuperate and gather their members together, seeing that they were all alright, sighs of relief that there were no casualties. Just bumps and bruises mostly.

The lead agent, Jimmy Woo, stood up in front of his agents, facing the gathered Fantastic Four with a "Don't we look the fools" expression on his face, "Erm…I think myself and S.H.I.E.L.D. owe you an apology," he started before he was interrupted as Johnny huffed, "Yeah, _big time_!"

"Look, at the end of the day _we_ were only doing our jobs. How were we supposed to know that the Fantastic Four who carried out a bank robbery were really a quartet of green-skinned, shape-shifting aliens? So what I suppose we do is forget that this little "incident" ever happened and we can go on our merry way. And before you even ask, S.H.I.E.L.D. will deal with the clean-up; your names will be cleared and you can go back to being the _Fantastic Four_ everyone knows and loves."

He turned to four of his agents, gesturing to the unconscious Skrulls, they understanding the gesture as they answer with a nod and a, "Yes sir," before persisting in obeying his order.

Reed observed the scene with a curious air about him, he then spoke up a few seconds later, "Excuse me, Agent--?" He waited for the other to answer.

"You can call me Agent Woo."

"Agent Woo, I just like to know what S.H.I.E.L.D. has in store for the Skrulls?"

Jimmy stared at the aliens being carried off by the agents, turning back to face the superheroes, "Well, for now at least, we'll be keeping them in custody. Maybe we'll get a few more answers out of them about any other impending threats they have against Earth, maybe this is their only attempt. Who knows?"

"Agent Woo, a moment please," Agent Carter, his partner, interrupted, heading back into the other room so they would be out of ear-shot.

He turned to face the Fantastic Four, mostly Reed, and replied calmly, "Before I leave, I would just like to say thank you for what you accomplished today. Even without our 'help', you four managed to thwart an inter-planetary invasion whilst we've been hunting you down as if you were the super-criminals. You really _are _fantastic! And again I liked to give you my deepest apologies."

He then bowed his goodbye and left in the direction of where the blonde agent had disappeared, leaving the Fantastic Four standing in the middle of the room, feeling a little awkward but very relieved that it was all over.

"Woo! I am so glad that's over with!" Johnny exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief, "I am in serious need of a long, hot, soothing shower!"

"You said it, Johnny," Sue agreed, hooking an arm around Reed and gently easing him into the direction of the warehouse's exit, "Come on, let's go home and get some rest. We've been through a lot these past two days and all I want to do is sleep for a hundred years."

Reed looked at one of the unconscious Skrulls before it disappeared into one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vans parked outside with a few others, "And so ends the menace of the Skrulls."

They all looked in the direction that he was facing, all nodding in agreement, "**Yeah, but I've a feelin' that there's going to be worst trouble ahead of us!**" Ben added, following the other three shortly behind, his footsteps pounding the concrete beneath his feet even though he was only walking.

Johnny looked back, a beaming smile on his face, "Aw Thing, always the optimist."

The End of Issue 2

* * *

Enemies:-

**The Skrulls** - They are green-skinned reptilian humanoids with large pointed ears, red or green eyes, and corrugated chins. The Skrulls are known for their physical malleability and ability to shape-shift to any size, shape, or color at will, taking on the appearance but not the characteristics of other beings and objects. Skrulls are able to assume virtually any form and as a result, the Skrulls excel at spying and infiltration. Skrulls are also able to use their shapeshifting abilities to form weapons (eg. blades and clubs) with parts of their bodies, making them dangerous hand-to-hand combatants.

Cameos:-

**Agent Jimmy Woo** - Jimmy is one of the top agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., an espionage and law-enforcement agency, and well known for his proficiency in martial-arts and the handling of firearms and melee weapons.

**Agent Sharon Carter** - Sharon is also one of the top agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is Jimmy Woo's partner. She's highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and is a master at sniping.

Special Cameo:-

**Tony Stark** - For Tony Stark's profile, check out the 'Team Roster' page in my other Marvel series, 'The Avengers: Volume 1".


	4. Played Like a Puppet!

**Issue 3**

**The Baxter Building, 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, New York City, New York**

It had been a tough month for the up-and-coming super-group that was known throughout America, and quite possibly the world, as the "Fantastic Four". After being bombarded with rays from a freak cosmic storm on an unauthorized mission into space, which bestowed them their "fantastic" powers, they'd formed a super-team and had saved the world from both the Mole Man and the Skrulls.

Now, the faithful four were on the 31st floor of a 35-storey building, after just having a long tour of it and the four other floors above, all contemplating on their final decision of the place.

You see (to get you all up-to-date) after dealing with the Skrulls back in Central City, Reed decided that they needed to move somewhere which offered them bigger apartments for them to live in, as well as somewhere to put Reed's technological equipment he seemed to be making quite frequent recently in, and to offer them better security and resources all-round. The search lead them to New York City, the "City that never sleeps".

"So," Reed started after what felt like an perpetuity of silence, his hand cupping his chin as he faced those he thought of as family, "What do we think? Not too shabby, huh?" He replied with a seemingly positive tone in his voice, easily winning over Johnny and Ben who were already planning whose room was whose, but it didn't seem to convince his beautiful fiancée quite so easily.

She admired the current floor with fists firmly on her hips, a "not quite sure" look upon her face, an expression Reed had learned always meant that she wasn't entirely sure about something. She'd used it before when they moved into their previous apartment back in Central City, but he managed to persuade her…eventually.

"I don't know, Reed, are you sure we can afford it? I mean, we not exactly "raking it in" at the moment and we'd probably fit everything we own back in Central City on just one storey. What are we going to do with all the extra space?"

This was the moment that her little brother decided to "step in", "Oh, don't be such a worry wart, sis. You have to admit that this place is _beyond _cool and once we're settled in, it's gonna be even better than the place we've got back home."

Sue still wasn't sure, being the "worry wart", as her brother so colourfully proclaimed, of their family, but she trusted Reed with every fibre of her being. I mean, he did turn their apartment in Central City into both a home they could live in _and _a base for his technological equipment which helped them in their "career" as superheroes.

She'd finally made up her mind, turning to face the other three, a small smile forming on her lips, "Okay, you've convinced me, but if you think I'm cleaning up after all of you, you've got another thing coming." She made her point very clear by pointing at the male trio with her index finger.

"Oh, I'm glad you like it, honey, but about the cleaning, I've got it all under control so you won't have to worry about it anymore," Reed replies, pulling Sue into his arms and giving her a short kiss in which Johnny retaliated with a, "Yuck!" before replying, "I'm gonna go find my room before I barf on this very floor."

Ben was also uncomfortable, scratching his head with unease, "**Uh, I think I'd better vamoose too, ya know, check out the sights, see what this city's gotta offer, and find a bar that's opened at this hour,**" he uttered the last part to himself as he left the apartment and down the stairs, the elevator not being able to hold his weight, but Reed promised he'd work on that as soon as possible.

Back with Sue and Reed, they pulled apart once they needed air, a smile on Sue's face as she asked, "So…care to share with me in how you've got the cleaning under control?" And in that moment, accompanied by the sunlight beaming in through the curtain-less windows, Reed thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, an angel among men.

"It's not quite finished yet, but it's halfway from completion. Just a few tinkers here and there and it'll be complete," Reed informed, before taking out his PDA from his back pocket, loading it up to show Sue the schematics. "I call it H.E.R.B.I.E, which stands for Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics, and I'm programming it to do all the chores around the place. Basically a cleaning robot, but with added intelligence and armed with certain defences."

Sue look down at the screen and all she saw was a robot that looked like Reed borrowed it from a 1960s comic-book. It had a small, rectangle head, a thin neck, a rounded body and long, metallic arms, but funnily enough it had no legs, "That's all fine and dandy, Reed, but why has it got no legs? You're going to tell me that it's capable of flight, aren't you?"

Reed smiled, loving the fact that his fiancée was not only beautiful, but also incredibly smart, "Right you are, my beloved. I'm making H.E.R.B.I.E capable of flight so it can move around our home with relative ease whilst cleaning it up. What do you think to that, honey?" He asked leaning forward, pressing his lips to her forehead, loving the feel of her skin against them before he backed away again.

Sue Storm couldn't have been more proud of her fiancé, "I think it's incredible, _but_ I just like to say that it goes nowhere near the kitchen. You know how I love to cook and how the kitchen's my own personal space whenever I want time to myself."

Reed knew this to be true after being with her all this time, nodding to her unthreatening demand, "Of course, whatever you say, honey."

"Thank you, Reed. And I do love the place, just to make it clear," she added before she was enveloped back into her fiancé's arms, his lips attached to hers in a kiss so passionate, literally taking her breath away.

**

* * *

**

On the streets of Manhattan, New York City

The Thing had to get out of there. Even though he wasn't at all claustrophobic, he just needed to and it was the fact that Reed and Sue's intimacy was becoming sickly sweet. He didn't want to feel it, express it, but he envied the couple. His best friend. His compassionate fiancée. Thanks to that unexpected cosmic storm, it transformed him into a hideous, grotesque monster, now incapable of finding love with any normal girl.

With his large trench-coat covering most of his body and his hat, Ben walked down the streets, avoiding people's stares and hoping to God that they don't start something. Because if they did, they'd know about it as he wasn't one to back down from threats or insults.

Before Ben had even realized it, it was almost 7 o'clock in the evening and he'd stumbled into the "rough" area of the city, most famously known as "The Bronx". The buildings that surrounded him looked bleak, desolate, as though no-one had been living in them for years, but he could tell that they did because the lights were still on, scattered all around him as he continued to walk down the sidewalk to wherever his large, gravelled feet were taking him.

About 10 or 15 minutes later, Ben's feet finally stop outside a sports bar, its bright orange neon sign blinking "Joey's" with another neon sign, blue this time, blinking below it which read: "Open 11 a.m. until 4 a.m."

_My kinda bar_, Ben thought to himself, pulling open both of the double doors which enabled him to get inside with next to no trouble. He then treaded straight for the wooden counter, surprised that his feet wasn't cracking the floor beneath him as he went, the patrons not really paying any attention toward him. They were more fixed on their own drinks than bothering to take a gander in his direction, which suited him just fine.

"Whaddya like, friend?" The bartender asked, as Ben pulled out the stool and sat on it, surprised again that it didn't collapse under his weight. He looked down at it with confusion before peering back up at the bartender, his once hazel eyes now glowing a light purple, "Don't worry, my friend, just making you weigh about 150lbs so ya don't go demolishing ma property with your _bulkiness_," he teased with a wink before putting the glass down that he was cleaning and asking again, "So, whaddya like ta drink?" His eyes still glowing that eerie radiance, not seeming to care that he had this huge, orange, rock-skinned monster inhabiting his bar.

Ben took a good look at the man standing before him, realizing straight the way that he wasn't like any _normal_ human he saw regularly. Well he was; he was African-American, probably in his early to mid-30s, had shoulder-length white hair that was dreadlocked and tied into a ponytail, stood to about 6'1" or 2", and was impressively built, making Ben think that this guy took regular trips to the local gym, whatever that was, but then he also wasn't, clearly possessing something that made him _different_ to everyone else.

He shrugged the feeling away, not wanting to get his head around it at the moment, if not at all, and uttered gruffly, "**Gimme me the strongest beer ya got, **_**buddy**_." Taking off his trench-coat as the temperature in the bar was stifling, needing the beer to quench the rising temperature of his invulnerable body that was making him feel like he'd just come off of running a cross-country marathon.

The corner of the bartender's mouth quirked up, "Sure thing, my friend," and he turned round to take a pint glass from the shelf before holding it under the beer pump, filling it to the brim and making sure that it had plenty of froth.

"There ya are, the strongest beer I've got. It's proven ta render a man unconscious after the first pint, but judging by the looks of ya, I'd say that ya haven't got a problem with that."

Ben didn't say anything to comply, just grabbed the glass as best he could and gulped the drink down all at once, the liquid ticking the insides of his throat as it descended down to his stomach, "**Keep 'em coming**."

He didn't like to admit it as he was taking down the drinks in one gulps, but when he saw Sue in Reed's arms, kissing him, it made him extremely jealous, hating the fact that they'll always have and be with each other, but he'll never be able to experience it for himself when he was…like he was.

Just as he was about to down his 8th, maybe 9th drink, he couldn't remember, his ears picked up the softest, genteel voice he'd ever heard coming from the booth directly behind him, "Sir, if I may say so, what you're doing isn't going to solve your problems. They'll still be there when you sober up."

Ben nearly dropped his glass onto the counter as the voice seemed to pluck at his heartstrings, revolving around on his stool to see who it'd belonged to. There, sitting on one side of the booth, was the most attractive woman he'd ever seen in his entire life. She had strawberry blonde hair that was styled into a pixie cut, which accentuated her high cheekbones and her soft, brown eyes, and had nice, peachy skin that was probably smooth to the touch.

She was also clothed in a white blouse, a beige pencil skirt and a pair of high heels to match it, looking to Ben like she was a lawyer or something similar to the effect. The look of her simply astounded him, to him she looked like an angel sent down from the very heavens. His heart had never beat so fast, far as he could remember.

"Would you like to take a seat with me? I'm here by myself and I'd love the company," she replied, gesturing with a hand to the empty seat directly opposite her.

As Ben stood up, completely forgetting his drink that was waiting for him on the counter, he collected his trench-coat and slowly walked over to the booth that was occupied by the woman who could've been the Greek goddess Aphrodite for all he knew.

Sitting down on the soft seat, knowing that the bartender was still sustaining his power to keep his weight in line, he looked upon the woman and could see that she was smiling, seeming to take his breath away with such a simple glance.

"So," she started, her hands crossing over each other on the table, "What's a man like _you_ doing in a place like this, huh? Not to drink his life away, I hope?" Her brown eyes seem to sparkle in the otherwise dim bar.

The Thing just shrugged his shoulders at her questioning, "**Nah, just wantin' ta be by myself for a while. Anyways I could ask the same question about you Miss - ?**," he replied, earning a smile from the woman, a smile that caused his heart to beat so fast that he was afraid that even his stony exterior wouldn't be enough to stop it from bursting out of his chest.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, where are my manners?" She asked politely, mostly to herself, "My name's Alicia Masters and who may you be exactly?"

"_**Benjamin Grimm, ma'am. Ben for short**_," he mumbled simply, his heart beat forever pumping faster as she quirked a smile in his direction, "Oh, charming as well as handsome. This must be my lucky evening."

What was this woman's problem? Couldn't she see that he was nothing at all like she was describing him? He was more horrifying than _handsome_.

"**There's nothin' charming or handsome about me, ma'am**," he muttered again, looking away from her, not wanting his hideous image to burn into her brain any longer, instead looking outside and noticing that the sky was turning into an array of orange, pink and purple, informing him that the sun was going down. _Jeez, I didn't realize I was gone so long._

"Isn't there, Ben? I beg to differ because, from what I can tell, I speak the truth. You're not going to tell me that I'm a liar now, are you Ben? And stop with the "ma'am" business, it makes me sound older than I really am." She snapped, but not at all harshly, the smile growing bigger on her lips, Ben able to notice her perfect, white teeth. "Please, call me Alicia."

"**Sorry if I insulted ya ma-, I mean, Alicia, and I ain't calling ya no liar, but ya must be blind if ya think of me as handsome**." He crossed his arms over his chest, as though by doing so it would seal their little argument about his physical features, but Alicia wasn't going to have any of it.

"Well, in actual fact, I am. Have been ever since I was 15," she answered him simply, as though it was common knowledge to everybody.

"**Oh…I'm so sorry, I didn't mean any-**," he began to apologize, but she stopped him with a gesture of her hand, "Please, you didn't cause any offence. It's just one of the effects of being blind, but not really showing it." She then caressed her index finger over her watch, feeling the hands of the small clock and the Braille, effectively telling her the exact time.

"Ah shoot, 7:46. I should be getting home, my dad will be wondering where I am," she informed, sliding out of the booth and making sure that she collected all of her things.

_If I let her leave now, I'll probably never see her again. Act now Ben, or you'll be regretting it!_ The voice inside his head goaded, forcing him to utter, "**Err, can I walk ya home? It's looks ta be a nice evening outside and I'm not letting a beautiful dame like yourself walk home alone**." That did it. That infectious smile was back on her face, Alicia securing her handbag on her shoulder as she replied, "Now how can I turn a charmer like yourself down after saying such a lovely comment?" She then turned to wave to the bartender, "Bye Lukas, I'll see you again soon."

"Alright. Take care, Alicia." He responded, Ben noticing that his eyes were back to their normal colour, watching him as he escorted Alicia outside.

A sudden gust of wind blew past them sharply, Ben noticing quickly that it caused Alicia to shiver, also noticing that she didn't have a jacket or a coat to wear, just her blouse.

"**Here, allow me**." He took off his trench-coat, deliberately showing off his monstrous features to the world, but not really caring, as he wrapped it around her, it looking tremendously huge on her.

She started to laugh at the size of it, wondering what she looked like with it on, "Oh, thank you Ben. That's very nice of you, but aren't you going to be cold?" She asked with concern evident in her voice.

"**I'll be okay, Alicia. I can take it**."

Alicia smirked back at him, "Alright, but if you get a cold because you helped littl' ol' me, then it's totally your fault, not mine." That earned a laugh from Ben as they started to head in the direction of Alicia's apartment, beginning their conversation from where they'd left off back in the bar, Alicia hooking her arm around Ben's, not really caring that it was impressively huge and felt like stone to the touch…

"Even though I am completely blind, I perceive the world in a different light. You see, since the beginning of my blindness, I found out fairly quickly that I could see people by the auras that surrounded them, all different shades of colour. Doctors couldn't explain it, but they told me to embrace it, not fear it and use it to my advantage. So, in doing so, I've learned to memorize most of the Bronx and Manhattan on my travels so I can easily get around as though I wasn't blind," Alicia elucidated as Ben had asked her just a short while ago about how she could walk around without using a cane or a guide dog. After she'd explained, Ben was deeply impressed with this young woman's skills.

"**Wow, that's pretty remarkable, Alicia, if I say so myself. If ya don't mind me asking, how do ya perceive me?**" He couldn't help himself, he just liked to know how Alicia could stand being around him and not think of him as a freak, a monster like everyone else had done since he'd became 'The Thing'.

Alicia stopped Ben in his tracks and manoeuvred herself so that she was standing in front of him, smiling up at him as she responded sensitively, "I see you shrouded in an aura of golden light that harmonizes the generosity that you've shown me. I can get a clearer picture of you if you allow me to touch your face. May I?"

It was one of the strangest requests Ben had ever heard of, but he'd heard of blind people being able to tell a lot about a person just by feeling their faces. He nodded, "**Of course, go nuts**." He then let out a small gruff of a laugh, feeling it tickle at the back of his throat.

Alicia nodded back, lifting her hands up to reach his face, a little shaky at first like a sculptor about to mould their first sculpture. As soon as they touched his rocky skin, she let out a gasp, but not a horrified one mind you, but one of intrigue and astonishment.

Ben couldn't bear to look at her as he turned his face to the side, away from her beautiful, gazing eyes and uttered, "**I'm hideous, ain't I?**" He could've let out a sob, but he daren't, in case it might change her opinion about him, if her touching his face hadn't already.

Yet, her voice was still as kind, as soothing as before, "No, Ben, you really are quite handsome, I wasn't lying about that," she replied, her fingers having caressed his cheeks and chin and were now moving upward, to his eyebrows and his forehead. "Sure, you have a rocky exterior, but I can tell that, underneath it all, you have a kind heart and a gentle soul. Not the least bit hideous."

"**You're not afraid of me? You're not gonna run off screaming and damning me?**" Ben was a little shocked that she wasn't the least bit frightened, but then again, she wasn't like most people he'd met since his transformation.

She returned her arms to her side and laughed, "Now why would I do such a silly thing like that?" She gazed up at the apartment building, knowing that her father was waiting inside for her, "I must be getting inside now. It's been a pleasure talking with you Ben, we really should do it again sometime. Maybe you could tell me a little bit about yourself," she implied, walking up the few steps slowly before she was standing beside the double doors.

"**Umm…how's tomorrow night sound?**" He asked, hope evident in his voice.

"Sorry, no can do I'm afraid. I've got to attend a show tomorrow night at the Museum of Modern Art with my father to promote our works. I would ask you to join us, but I'm guessing you don't find the 'Arts' very interesting."

"**Sounds like fun, what time do ya want me ta pick yous up?**" He interrupted, his voice a little enthusiastic at having another chance to see Alicia again.

Alicia allowed her head to sag a little, not liking the fact that her "father" would discover that she had a date with someone she thought as "charming", but he'd otherwise think him "hideous" and force her to end what she felt was something "fantastic", "Err, maybe it would be best if you met us there. Around 7 o'clock okay?"

"**Sure, I'll be there on the dot**." He answered, watching as she waved to him goodnight before disappearing through the double doors. As he turned to make his long trek back to the hotel that they'd checked in, Ben couldn't help, but feel like he was literally on Cloud 9.

He didn't even notice the creepy feeling people got when they thought that someone was watching them, as a pair of sinister eyes gazed upon him from one of the apartment building's 2nd-storey windows until he disappeared around the corner, a devious plan already formulated in their mind as they returned to their work…

**

* * *

**

A small hotel a few blocks away from the Baxter Building

"Oh Reed, where could he be? He's been gone for hours. I hope nothing's happened to him," Sue asked, clearly worried about her fiancé's best friend, Reed knowing this from the obvious fact that, while she was pacing the floor, her powers seemed to be all over the place, causing her to turn invisible for a few seconds than back to normal simultaneously.

Reed stood up from the double bed they were sharing and made his way over to her, standing in the way of her pacing and embraced her into his arms, "Ssh, calm down, my darling. Ben's going to be alright, you'll see. And besides, his heightened durability will protect him from most threats, along with his "less-talk-more-fighting" attitude that we've come to love about him."

Sue stopped her fretting for a moment and enjoyed her fiancé's embrace, his strong arms wrapped around her, the smell of the cologne she'd gotten him for his birthday assaulting her senses, soothing her from her anxiety over Ben not turning up yet.

Just as she was about to gently push herself away and continue pacing, the door to their hotel room opened and in popped Ben, minus his trench-coat and with a smirk on his face, "**Now before ya start havin' a go at me Susie, I just wanna say that I'm deeply sorry for not calling ta tell ya where I was. Ta be perfectly honest, I'd forgotten, but for good reason, mind you**."

He closed the door behind him and stepped a little closer to the couple, making sure that the door to the next room, which he and Johnny were occupying, wasn't open. He honestly didn't want that kid hearing any of this, knowing full well that he would tease Ben about it until the cows come home. "**Well, the reason why I was late was because I kinda met someone, in a sports bar somewhere in the Bronx of all places. Anyways, we got talkin' and afterwards, I walked her home and when we got there, one thing led to another and we ended up setting up another date. For 7 o'clock tomorrow night**."

Sue had a hand over her mouth the entire time, worrying that something terrible must've happened for him to be gone so long, but when she heard that he had actually met someone and that they'd arranged a date, she opened up her arms and wrapped them the best she could around Ben's body.

"You've got a date? That's fantastic!" She exclaimed, a little too loudly, and it seemed to Ben that she'd completely forgotten about him being tardy now that he mentioned meeting a girl, well woman actually.

Suddenly, before even Ben knew it, the door to the adjoining room opened and out popped Johnny, wearing a grey vest and white pyjama bottoms, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest, "What's this I hear about _Unky Ben_ having a date tomorrow night?" The smirk on his chops was nothing short of mischievous.

"**It's got nuthin' ta do with ya, Matchstick, so why don't ya go back in there and crawl back inta ya bed**," answered Ben, pointing in the direction of their rented room, but as usual, Johnny ignored him, instead walking closer to him until he was standing just a foot or two away from him. "Aw, come on…don't be like that, Ben. Can't I even congratulate you in finding a girl that hasn't run for the hills screaming 'bloody murder' at the first sight of you? I know I would've…"

That did it. Picking up anything that happened to be nearest him, which happened to be the double bed, Ben picked it up effortlessly with one hand in an attempt to throw it at Johnny when he was stopped by Reed's elastic arms as they seemed to have a life of their own. Wrapping themselves around his arm to stop him from damaging the hotel's property and God forbid they couldn't let that happen. They wouldn't be able to pay for all the damage that Ben could cause, thanks to his superhuman strength.

"**Lemme at 'im! I'll pulverize the little squirt!**" Ben bellowed, his anger only hushed by the combined voices of Reed and Susan, "Easy there Ben, old pal. We can't afford to pay the damages you might cause with your anger."

"Don't listen to my brother, Ben. You know how he likes to tease you, just try and ignore him. Besides, you've got other things to think about now, haven't you." Sue seemed extra effervescent after mentioning that fact, rubbing his arm tenderly, as she would do to a young child, but doubting he could barely feel it because of his rocky exterior.

Ben eventually put the bed back where it was, hence with the bed sheet, the pillows and the quilt in a pile on the floor, and gave an outward sigh, his head nodding to confirm that she was right, "**Ya right, Susie. I shouldn't let ya brother get ta me like that, but…it's not easy, ya know?**"

Susan nodded in response, "I do know, believe me Ben, after living with him for 16 years, I know exactly how you feel." She then comforted him by patting him on the back, not really sure if it would make him feel any better.

"**Thanks for sayin' that, Susie. It's nice ta know that I'm not the only one who feels this way**," Ben sighed, his shoulders sagging, his mouth forming a crooked smile to tell Sue that he appreciated what she was trying to do for him.

"Why don't you head on off to bed and get some much-needed rest. From what you've just told us, you've got a big night tomorrow," soothed Sue, Ben nodding, but not saying anything as he turned on the spot and headed into the next room, mumbling, "**G'night**," before closing the door behind him.

Now that she was assured that Ben was alright, she headed over to her side of the bed and began stripping off her clothes, "I can't believe Johnny sometimes! He can be so insensitive and he's just too ignorant to see that it can really get to people, you know?" Susan exasperated, letting it all out in a sigh of frustration as she climbed into the bed, the softness enveloping her as well as Reed's arms, who'd stripped down to his Calvin's whilst listening to her.

"I know exactly how you feel honey and, don't hurt me when I say this, but you've gotta ease up a little when he behaves in such a manner. He's only acting like every other 16-year-old on the planet. Heck, even I acted like that when I was 16." Reed replied, waiting for the moment for Sue to slap him with the palm of her hand or with something harder, but it never came.

Instead he heard her breathe another sigh, edging herself as close as she could get to his half-naked body, "Yeah? Well, I guess you're right, but it still doesn't excuse him for what he did. I'll have a sisterly talk with him in the morning. Goodnight, love." Sue then reached over to the lamp placed upon the bedside table and switched it off, returning to her original position beside Reed and closing her eyes, waiting to be taken away by her dreams.

Reed reached over to turn his bedside lamp off before speaking softly, "Goodnight to you, my beautiful beloved."

**

* * *

**

Alicia's apartment, The Bronx, New York City

After leaving Ben on the steps of the apartment building, Alicia walked past the small reception area, softly replying, "Good evening, Ms. Ventura," to the middle-aged receptionist who answered her back with a smiley, "Evening Alicia," before she disappeared up the stairs to the apartment she'd been sharing with her dad, well step-dad to be exact, for the past nine years.

As she felt inside her handbag for the keys, her mind drifted back to the conversations she and Ben had shared in the sports bar and on the walk to her apartment, thinking how completely normal it felt to her, despite the fact that Ben would've argued otherwise. Which was a pity. Ben was definitely no monster. Sure, people think him one as soon as they look at him, but they weren't really _seeing_ him like she did…as a human being.

Suddenly, the touch of her keys upon her fingertips pulls her away from her thoughts as she takes them out of her handbag. Using her sense of touch, she finds the right key and inserts it into the lock, unlocking the door with a successful click. Depositing her keys back into her bag, she hung it up on the nearby clotheshorse before stepping out of her high-heels and carrying them into her bedroom.

Setting them carefully in the closet she'd declared just for shoes, Alicia then stepped in front of her wardrobe, opening it out and picking out an outfit well-suited for the given time. Now garbed in a silky night-dress, Alicia held her worn clothes in her arms, putting them in the laundry basket a few seconds later when she passed the bathroom, on her way to her step-dad's workroom to bid him goodnight.

Opening the door quietly, she peeked her head inside, hearing him muttering to himself about finding out if it'll work in the morning, whatever that meant. You see her step-dad, Phillip Masters, was a well-renowned carpenter who spent his talent making puppets and marionettes back in the heyday when they were considered highly popular. He was one of those who was involved in classic cult TV shows like _Super Car, Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet, Stingray_, and _Thunderbirds_.

Those days were now over, and he now indulged in both carpentry and pottery, using his impressive skills to making or repairing furniture, dolls & figurines, ceramics, and other such similar effects. However, since he'd returned from his short trip to his native Transia a few days ago, he had been acting somewhat…differently. He seemed more interested in his work than in anything else, which seemed highly unusual to Alicia as he found time to do both his work and spending time with his step-daughter, which she always looked forward to.

Alicia couldn't quite put her finger on his strange behaviour, but ignored it for now, just glad that he was back from his trip. "Father, I'm back," she said softly, loud enough for him to hear, but he didn't seem to even acknowledge her presence, too caught up in his work, "I'm going to head off to bed. It's been a busy day today at work, and I'm totally exhausted. Goodnight."

"All right, my dear. Sweet dreams," he uttered austerely, not even bothering to turn around to look at her as he said it.

Even though she couldn't really "see" it, she saw it in his aura that he wasn't paying attention, tears daring to shed at such ignorance in her step-father's behaviour.

"Okay then…I guess I see you in the morning then? Don't work too hard, Father. It can be…unhealthy."

"Yes, yes, yes, I won't, dear. Now please, leave me in peace. I've got important work to finish," he replied, dismissing her, continuing to mould the clay in front of him into the desired form he needed it to be.

Alicia, without another word, quietly shut the door behind her, wiping away a single tear she allowed to shed, walking into her room and shutting the door behind her. Climbing into bed, she couldn't help, but think that that wasn't her step-father in there as she flicked off her bedside lamp. He'd definitely changed from his return trip from Transia.

In his current behaviour, Alicia was convinced that he wasn't the stepfather she grew up with in the past nine years he'd been looking after her. The same man who'd bless her goodnight with fatherly love in his voice, was always interested to know about what she'd done for the day, and whether or not she was interested in anyone…only for him to turn overprotective, asking incessant questions that were more like police interrogations than simply asking for the necessary basics about this said person.

As she lay in her bed, in the dark, it brought a small smile to her face at just how protective her stepfather was, how anyone in his position should be towards their children. But then the thought of how he'd behaved just now materialized and it caused it to disappear. Drifting off to sleep, she hoped, wished in fact, that it was just a phase for him to finish off his current work, and return him to his normal self.

Little did Alicia know, that this was only the beginning to her step-father's new line of work…

Back in the workroom, Phillip was zealous to complete his latest project; measuring, sanding, drawing, sawing, polishing, and painting the wood with the use of his expensive-looking equipment. As he applied the final touches, he couldn't keep the excitement inside himself any longer and let it out a laugh that sounded a lot like the ones done by mad scientists only seen in ancient sci-fi B-movies.

On the table stood an ordinary-looking 8-inch wooden puppet that was made to look _exactly_ like the Thing, but something wasn't right about it. In the mixture that gave the puppet its almost "realistic" appearance, Phillip had added a component that he'd acquired on his trip to Transia. What this component did, the Fantastic Four and the people of New York City will soon find out.

Unfortunately it would have to wait until morning, for he was tired and he knew that if he didn't get a decent amount of sleep, he wouldn't be at 100%. He needed to be to make sure that his plan worked. If so, he'd be the most feared man in the city, perhaps even the world…

**

* * *

**

Manhattan, New York City

Being a Saturday, and an extremely hot day, it was practically 'heaving' as Sue, along with Ben, walked down the halls of a particular mall in search for a nice gift for Ben's date tonight. She wouldn't have asked Ben to come with her, wanting to rather surprise him with the gift she would've chosen, but, since they'd "come out" as the 'Fantastic Four', they never seemed to get a moment's peace. So, Ben was accompanying her as sort of a bodyguard, scaring off any fans if they got too close. The only sort of fans who were more persistent than most were the kids under the age of ten, completely fascinated in the Thing and his 'awesome' look, as he heard them quote amongst other things. Kids, so young and care-free.

There were in the floral section of the mall, Sue examining and smelling certain flowers that would be a perfect gift for Alicia, the girl Ben had told them this morning about.

"Ah! I know it's a cliché, but I think you'd be better off with roses, red ones obviously." Sue stated, picking out a dozen as they were on offer for $15 for the bunch. "I know you'd told us this morning that this Alicia's blind, but she'll appreciate the gift nonetheless."

She placed the bunch into the basket, and headed on, probably to look in the clothes section while she left Ben behind, who was garbed in another one of his trench-coats as well as his fedora to complete his disguise. It didn't matter much because he was still drawing attention to himself which he'd gotten used to in the past month.

He was staring down at all the beautiful colours of the flowers when he started to feel a little _light-headed_. Was the heat getting to him? He _was _wearing a trench-coat and a fedora in 90° weather after all, but he did remember Reed telling him that his rock-solid body could withstand exposure to such temperatures for a limited period of time before he felt its effects. How long did he say it could withstand it? An hour, maybe two?

Ben couldn't recall as his head felt like there was nothing in it, causing him to feel dizzy, hoping to God that it doesn't also make him nauseous as he didn't want to reveal what he had for breakfast this morning all over the nicely-polished floor.

Little did Ben know that this was an effect from a certain mental attack that was being produced by a specific individual who was testing his recently discovered ability, or he'd like to say 'gift'. That specific individual was none other than Alicia's step-father, Phillip, who was at this moment in the midst of an attempt to control Ben's mind via the wooden puppet he'd made the previous night.

After what felt like forever, Ben was finally under Phillip's mental spell, a empty husk waiting for his "master's" instruction, standing ever so still as though like a statue.

"Excellent, excellent!" Phillip seemed to chant as he could see the world through Ben's eyes via his mental power, "It's working perfectly! It seems that the component that I'd acquired on my trip appears to be conducting my ability to control minds through inorganic objects flawlessly! Now to give it a test drive!"

Meanwhile, back in the floral shop, the Thing stood motionless until he began to move under Phillip's influence toward a particular shop which held luxurious jewellery and whatnots. Heading straight for the window, using his super strength, Ben punched through it, glass shards flying everywhere as the alarm sounded the break-in.

He ignored it, being under Phillip's control and all, and proceeded into the shop, paying no heed to the cries of scared customers and the ordering of security guards to stand down. When he didn't they had no choice, but to take him down by any means necessary, two of the three using their firearms to disable him whilst the last used his taser.

Auspiciously for the Thing, his rock-like hide made him impenetrable to small calibre bullets and the taser's two dart-like electrodes couldn't even pierce through it.

"Hah! Hah! Hah! The fools! Do they not know by now that the Thing cannot be harmed by mere bullets and tasers?" Phillip laughed hysterically, watching through Ben's eyes as he gripped the very floor beneath him and whipped it in the direction of the guards, causing a large ripple to send them flying in all directions. "That's it my super-strong slave! Do as I command! Nothing can stop me!"

Alas, Alicia had to disturb him at just such a moment, knocking quietly against the door before entering, his attention averted from the Thing's puppet, breaking the hold he had over his mind.

"Father, I'm just going out to buy a suitable outfit for tonight. I shouldn't be gone long, alright?" She was making sure she had everything in her bag with the feel of her fingers; purse, keys, make-up, a woman's bare essentials.

"Yes, yes, yes! Go! Leave me be! I'm in the middle of something!" He retorted almost hatefully, returning to the puppet that lay sprawled on the floor, thankfully intact.

"Oh…" Alicia uttered barely, taken back from her stepfather's outburst, "Well…I'll see you later then." She took one last look in his direction before slowly closing the door behind her, heart breaking at his increasingly nasty behaviour as she left the apartment, a single tear trickling down her cheek.

Back in the jewellery shop, Ben felt like he'd just woken up from a dream…well, a nightmare actually because he'd dreamt that he was robbing a jewellery store, and took down security when they tried to stop him. However, he soon realized that it wasn't a dream, finding himself standing in the middle of said store, with security guards scattered about, and the marbled floor cracked, apparently from when he'd used it against them.

"**Wha-? What just happened?**" Ben asked, more to himself than to anyone else, confused at what he'd supposedly done.

The security guards were already rousing from his brutal attack, moaning at the pain they had to endure, their weapons trained on Ben, even though they knew it in themselves that they would prove futile against him. Just before they could do anything else, Sue Storm, with bags hanging from both wrists, came running through the main doors of the store with her arms waving in the air, and shouting, "Wait! Stop this please!" She then stood in front of Ben, arms open out wide as though she was going to protect him from the bullets, although they both knew that he could withstand high-calibre fire.

"Please step away from the Thing, Miss Storm! He's attempting to rob this store of its valuables, and must be apprehended by any means necessary!" One of the guards informed, not really knowing how they were going to go about it, but they both could tell that she wasn't attempting to budge a inch, "No! There has to be a explanation! Ben wouldn't do a thing like this!"

"Take a good look around you, Miss. There's a lot of evidence lying around that proves otherwise. Now please, step aside." The same guard urged, cocking his firearm as though to intimidate her.

Susan couldn't believe it, wouldn't believe it. Yes there was clear evidence that Ben had done what the guard had said, but why? She'd known Ben ever since she first met Reed, and knew in her heart that he would never do a thing like this. So who could be behind it? Another alien species wanting to dominate the world by first taking down one of its superhero teams that help defend it one-by-one? A super-powered villain making his debut? Whoever or whatever, Sue promised that she and the rest of Fantastic Four were going to find that out.

Just then she was picked up and held in the arms of the Thing who, when she looked at him straight in his eyes, she could tell that he wasn't all there. Like he was in a trance or something to that effect, "Ben? Ben, what are you doing? Snap out of it!" She tried to wiggle out of his hold by thrashing her arms and legs about, but his strength was too much for her.

"Stop struggling, Susan Storm! You know that once in the Thing's grip, it's very hard to get out of it," she heard Ben say, but knew that it wasn't really 'him' doing the talking.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" She asked, but she was answered in the same monotone voice, "Questions, questions. You shall know all in due time," and before Sue could say anything else, Ben pressed one large finger against the back of her neck at a certain pressure point, and she was out like a light.

With Sue unconscious, Ben stomped his foot down hard against the ground, causing it to shake slightly, but it was enough to topple the guards over onto their rump, and making his escape through the hole he'd made in the window earlier, screaming customers jumping out of the way as he bounded out of the mall, in the direction of the Phillip Master's home.

**

* * *

**

Alicia's apartment, The Bronx, New York City

It took him a while, but after managing to elude the police, the hypnotized Thing emerged in the back alley behind the apartment block which held Philip Master's, and of course Alicia's, domicile on the second floor. Ripping out the back door with just an ounce of his strength Thing proceeded to climb the stairs, ignoring the terrified Ms. Ventura as he passed, who was cowering behind the counter, until he reached no. 27, and stood stock still like a statue.

A moment later, the door was unbolted and unlocked, and standing in the doorway was Philip with a malevolent grin on his face, "Perfect…absolutely perfect! The Thing is under my complete and utter control and everything's going according to plan." He then turned away, walking further into the apartment as Thing followed, closing the door behind him, and settling Sue on the couch. Philip reappeared with a rope in his hands, "Here," he threw it at Thing, "Tie her up. I don't want her escaping and informing the remaining members of your team my location. I've worked too hard to have it all flushed down the toilet!"

The Thing did as he was told, binding Sue's hands behind her back, securing them enough so that she wouldn't be able to free herself, but not enough so it would cause her any discomfort. Whilst he was doing that, Phillip was in his work-room, readying himself for phase two of his plan.

_Now that I know that the substance that I'd acquired from Transia actually works, I shall continue to make the rest of the Fantastic Four, and then I shall be unstoppable!_ He thought to himself as he set to work cutting and constructing his puppets, mentally commanding Thing to keep guard over Sue while he worked.

**

* * *

**

A small hotel a few blocks away from the Baxter Building

"How long does it take to buy a girl a freakin' present? Huh?" Johnny fumed, pacing up and down the room from one side to the other, "I mean, they were only supposed to go there and back. I wouldn't have thought it would take them this long to do so! Do you? Reed, are you listening?"

Reed, who was sitting on the edge of the double bed, busy working on his handheld computer, looked up from the screen and replied, "Would you stand still a minute, Johnny. You're gonna wear through the carpet else. And yes, I have been listening, but I've also been scouring the city for them with this," gesturing with the gadget he held in his hand, something that reminded him of the ones he remembered from the old sci-fi TV shows he used to watch as a kid, but in better quality obviously.

Johnny looked puzzled as he stared at it, not much of a techno-whiz to understand what he was holding, unlike his sister who seemed to be the only one out of the three to understand what Reed was talking about if he got too "scientific" with his words. "Okay Reed, you're gonna have to tell me what that is and what it does because I don't have a single clue. I ain't Sue, you know." He finished, crossing his arms, waiting for Reed to answer him.

"It's a simple device really. It's your basic GPS receiver that all civilians can purchase, but I've modified it so that it can also locate any person, or persons in our case, anywhere in a 20-mile radius from its original position. Now with just a few more kinks, and…hah! It's complete," Reed announced, holding the handheld out in front of it as though it was a grand prize, and he'd won it.

"Well," Reed heard Johnny utter from across the room, "Are you just gonna stare at that thing or what? Sue and Ben might be in serious trouble." _It might sound horrible, but I really do hope so_, the young fiery hero secretly wished afterward, wanting to kick some more butt ever since their skirmish with a quartet of extraterrestrial, green-skinned shape-shifters known as the Skrulls.*

Reed held it closer to his chest as he stood up, tapping several buttons simultaneously before pushing the final one that caused the scanner to beep into life, "There…that should do it. It should take just a minute or two, depending how far away the two are." There was silence in the room except for Reed's gadget beeping every so often, both eagerly waiting for it to reveal their location. Suddenly, all was quiet. The beeping had stopped, Reed signifying that it must found them.

Looking at the screen, the red dot had stopped, blinking at a particular area in the southern part of the Bronx, quite far from where they were supposed to be. "Huh, well according to the scanner, they're in the Bronx, in an apartment complex on 74th and Boone Ave." Reed implied, turning the scanner off, and shoving it into his back pocket. "Come on, let's suit up, before we go after them. It's obvious that they're in some sort of trouble, and they can't contact us for help."

Heading into his rented room next door, Johnny didn't seem to care, too overly excited that they were finally getting some action as he began to slip out of his day clothes, and into the dark-purple jumpsuits that they'd been wearing for situations like this since the day they'd took down the Mole Man as the "Fantastic 4."

_* - The Fantastic Four fought the Skrulls in the previous issue!_

**

* * *

**

Alicia's apartment, The Bronx, New York City

"Hunnhh," Sue groaned, finally waking up from unconsciousness, and feeling like she'd been under for ages. The throbbing of an upcoming migraine didn't help much, and as she opened her eyes, blinking so that they could adjust to the intense light coming through the net curtains, she found herself to be in somebody's apartment, and also with her hands tied behind her back and her feet bound together.

Struggling to sit herself up on the couch that she was laid upon, she managed to do so in a matter of seconds, and took a more observant look at her surroundings. To her, it looked like your normal, everyday apartment with nice-looking furniture, it and the walls decorated with flowers and pictures, and a normal-sized television and a DVD player set in the corner of the room, the DVDs sorted neatly on the shelf above it.

Looking to her right, that was when she saw Ben, standing with his back facing her, filling out that part of the room with his tremendous bulk. That was when she also remembered what had happened. Back at the mall. Finding Ben in the middle of a jewellery store with glass everywhere, and two security guards with their guns trained on him, declaring that he was there to steal everything in the shop. Sue knew instantly that something wasn't right, and the way he spoke to her, in that vacant voice and referring himself in third-person, it was definitely the work of someone using hypnotism or some other method to influence Ben to do whatever they wanted.

"Ben? Ben, please answer me!" Sue risked calling out to him in a hushed voice, not wanting to attract any others' attention, but he didn't even answer her, didn't turn around either to see what she wanted. Then, without facing her, Ben spoke, but in a tone that wasn't his own, "It's no use, Susan. He can't hear you. I'm afraid his mind's a little "occupied" at the moment." If the voice had a face, it would be smiling maliciously back at her.

"Who are you? What have you done to Ben?"

"My real name is of no importance, but you can call me the "Puppet Master". Soon, the entire city will be chanting it, and then the entire world. Oh," he uttered, looking up at the hypnotised Ben, "And as for your rocky friend here, he's under my control…you see Susan, you and your band of superhero _misfits_," he gestured in Ben's direction as he said the last part with added venom, "Aren't the only ones blessed with unique gifts. I too have a power…the uncanny ability to control one's mind; to do my bidding without lifting a single finger." His smile grew as he demonstrated this ability on Ben, "Allow me to demonstrate."

He then turned to face the super-strong, blue-eyed Thing, _Ben, place both hands on your head, and spin around on the spot three times_, he ordered, both he and Sue watching as Ben did as he was instructed, obviously none the wiser. "And now with the strongest of the Fantastic Four on my side, nothing and no-one, not even you Susan, can stop me." He then began to maliciously laugh, ironically like those villains you'd find in films made in the 1940's and 50's, before he was rudely interrupted by the sound of his front door blowing open.

Standing behind it, what was left of it that is, were the remaining members of the Fantastic Four; Mr. Fantastic, and the Human Torch, garbed in their purple jump-suits, ready for immediate action, if need be.

"_Knock, knock_," Human Torch quips, smiling afterward, "I've always wanted to say that."

"Alright, whoever you may be, let my friends go peacefully, and I promise you no-one will get hurt in the process." Mr. Fantastic bargained, not knowing what this man was capable of, and thus didn't want either Sue or Ben to get hurt.

The Puppet Master laughed again, "Well if it isn't the cavalry come to save their captured friends. So deeply poetic, so very _predictable_." He then turned to face Ben again, _Ben, take care of your friends by any means necessary_, he ordered mentally, pointing in the direction of Mr. Fantastic and the Human Torch.

The Thing clenched his fists, and began to charge forward, intending to spear the duo into next week, his feet thundering along the wooden floor, almost threatening to collapse underneath him. The duo only had seconds to react, knowing that if they're hit by the Thing's charge, their bodies would be surely broken.

Using his elastic abilities, Mr. Fantastic deformed his midsection into a semicircle so that the Thing would charge right under him while the Human Torch cried, "FLAME ON!" flying into the air, albeit the apartment didn't give him much room to breathe, let alone move.

"We need to take this outside, Reed!" Human Torch cried out, dodging the objects that the Thing was throwing at him with relative ease, but knew sooner or later that they were eventually going to connect unless they were granted more space.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Johnny!" Puppet Master exclaimed, mentally ordering Thing to do what Johnny had just mentioned a milliseconds ago. Looking toward the part of the building that faced the street below, Thing charged yet again, fists clenched tightly as he neared the wall, bringing them as far back as he could before forcing them forward, making a gigantic hole for him to jump out of. He then landed seconds later in a kneeled position in the middle of the street, his tremendous bulk, and durability causing the ground to crack beneath him.

"Why's Ben acting this way, Reed? Why would he attack his friends?" Human Torch asked, hovering the air, waiting for Reed to find a way out of this new predicament, and help Ben get back to his senses before he destroyed everything he touched.

"I don't Johnny, but we've got to stop the Thing or at least calm him down before he hurts someone. Then we'll figure it out afterwards. "

"What about Sue?" Human Torch wondered as he followed Reed out into the street, thankful that there was no-one in sight so they wouldn't have to worry about the civilians getting hurt at least.

"She'll be fine. As long as that guy's concentrating on us, he hopefully won't take any more notice of her. Which I'm hoping he does so she can concentrate in getting herself out of that jam, and giving us the hand we need to win this bout."

Johnny didn't like it, leaving Susan behind with that palpable madman, but Reed was right, _as always_. The Thing was the obvious threat at the moment, and they needed to get him back into his normal state of mind before they could deal with the bald-headed guy with a fetish for toy figurines.

Right now the Thing had stomped his way over to one of the cars parked on the side of the street, and had lifted it up over his head. He then turned back around to face Mr. Fantastic, and the Human Torch before chucking the vehicle in their direction. Not wanting it to hit any random passer-bys or cause any damage to whatever it hit, Mr. Fantastic instinctively expanded himself upward until he was at the flying car's level before hastily widening himself out, looking like a giant baseball glove, catching it with relative ease.

Whilst he was dealing with that, the Human Torch circled around the Thing in the air, discharging a stream of fire as he did so, effectively trapping him in a ring of hot flame in a bid to give them some time to strategize. However, it didn't even hinder him, the Thing's rock-skinned body being incredibly impervious to hot temperatures.

"Well there goes my idea down the toilet," the Human Torch muttered, keeping the Thing at bay with fireballs while Mr. Fantastic tried to calm him, like he normally did, by wrapping himself around his body, prohibiting him any movement.

Meanwhile, back in the apartment, whilst the Puppet Master was busy in taking care of Reed and Johnny, Sue, on the other hand, had managed to free her hands, and was now untying the ones wrapped around her feet. She'd got the upper hand, he was too busy focusing on the fight that he wasn't aware that she was now free, and heading straight in his direction.

_Must be quiet, stealthy. I'll need to be if I want to pull this off without a hitch. To free Ben of his mind control, _Sue told herself, raising her flattened hand, ready to attack with a knockout strike to the neck, what she and Johnny had learned from their weekly martial-arts classes to use only in dire need. This being such an occasion.

Slicing through the air with impressive speed, Sue struck the Puppet Master square on the side of the neck, at a certain pressure point that rendered anyone unconscious for a matter of hours, if pressed hard enough. As like she was taught, the Puppet Master uttered a quick, "Hunh!" before slumping to the ground with a loud thud, dropping the figurine of Ben he held in his hand, releasing him from his mind controlling.

Outside, the Thing was about to batter the Human Torch with a lamppost when the Puppet Master's mind control was released, leaving him in a state of confusion as to what he was doing here, and why both of his team-mates were garbed in their Fantastic Four gear.

"**Wha-? What's goin' on, guys? What imma doing with this?**" He asked, sticking the lamppost back in place from where he'd ripped it from the ground minutes ago.

Reed placed a comforting hand on his back, thankful that his best friend was back to his normal self, "It's alright now, Ben. It seems that Sue's taken care of our _friend_ back in the apartment."

Ben looked at him with his thick eyebrows hinting with confusion. "I'll tell you all about it once we've alerted the authorities." Reed assured, leading him and Johnny back into the apartment complex, thankful for once that they hadn't caused too much damage this time. It would've been quite a hit on their finances if they had.

**

* * *

**

Museum of Modern Art, Midtown Manhattan, New York City

Apart from everyone knowing the fact that Phillip Masters, who'd called himself the 'Puppet Master' in a scheme to take over the city with his uncanny mind controlling ability, had been arrested, the night had gone on pretty well for Alicia. She, garbed in a beautiful, dark navy Celia Maxi dress with an intricate bustier detailing, and fringe front made her look like the 'belle of the ball', was now standing with Ben outside on the patio, his arm protectively wrapped around her, both looking up at the stars twinkling in the cloudless, night sky.

"I'm afraid I have to apologise," she pronounced out of the blue, Ben looking down on her with confusion etched on his face.

"**For what, Alicia?**"

She turned in his embrace to look up at him directly, "For my father, and what he tried to accomplish earlier today. I must admit that he hasn't been the same since his trip back from Transia, but I never would've thought he'd do something like this. I still love him though Ben, no matter what. He is my father after all." She then began to sob, Ben pulling her closer to him, soothing her by rubbing her back as gently as he could.

"**It's alright, kid. Everythin's gonna be alright now, you'll see. Your dad's gonna get the help he deserves, and when he's better, he'll be back ta being the father ya always loved**." Ben enlightened, proud with himself that he managed to keep it together. He didn't like to admit, because of Alicia, but he wasn't in on all this mushy stuff. Being the leader of the Yancy Street gang for so many years would do that to a person.

"I hopes so too, Ben…and thank you, for coming tonight. I really do appreciate it."

"**Don't mention it. It's a pleasure ta see your works out on display. They're really quite something ta behold. Which must be the reason why yous got plenty of offers from those well-off benefactors back there**." Ben then thumbed in the direction of the show, which was still going strongly, even though it was getting pretty late.

Alicia raised her left hand, and felt her watch with the other, the Braille informing her that it had just gone past 11 o'clock. "Come on, Ben," she tapped him on his side, "I think it's time we headed off home. I think we've had enough to think about for one day. Don't you?"

Ben nodded, allowing Alicia to hook her arm around his, well as much as she could seeing as his arms were like the size of tree trunks, and escorted her out of the front entrance. While her previous home was being refurbished, Alicia would be staying at her friend's apartment, which wasn't far from where they were now. Which was a shame really. Alicia didn't want this night to end, but it like they always say - _All good things must eventually come to an end_.

**

* * *

**

Ryker's Island, New York City, New York

With his hands handcuffed together, and his head bowed down, Phillip Masters AKA The Puppet Master was being escorted by two heavy-armed guards to his cell, which consisted of just a bed with a pillow and a thin blanket, a basic table and chair, and a toilet situated in the corner of the room.

"Alright, in ya go!" One of the guards ordered, taking off the handcuffs as he escorted him in. Once they were off, he left the cell, the other guard locking it behind him. They then exited through the doorway they came in, leaving Phillip to dwell amid the eerie tranquillity and the darkness, which actually comforted him. Allowed him to think more clearly.

"Don't think you've seen the last of me, Fantastic Four. I shall bide my time, fool these people who want to _help_ me into thinking that I can be cured so they can set me free. Then I shall have to do a better job in taking you all down…especially you, Ben Grimm."

**The End of Issue 3**

* * *

Enemies**:-**

**Puppet Master **AKA **Phillip Masters** - He uses a unknown substance found only in his native Transia which he adds to his puppets which he creates to look like real people; enabling him to control them via hypnotic mind control. Through their eyes, he can make them do whatever he wants. Only problem is, he can only control them via the puppets. Without them, he has no power. He also has a daughter, well step-daughter, Alicia Masters who, even though he might not show it, he holds dear to his heart.


End file.
